With the presence of 5,000 young people, the National Youth Day (JNJ), which brings together participants from all over the country around the slogan “young pilgrims of hope” is developed these days in La Serena (Chile).
The day began on January 22 and will run until Sunday 26, with the purpose of celebrating together faith, fraternity and hope.
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In the opening ceremony, the president of the National Commission of Youth Pastoral and Bishop of Talca, Mons. Galo Fernández, sent a message in which he was happy before the “tremendous wave of young people who come from the north, of the south, of the towns, of the cities, of the large capitals, also of the coast, of the center, from everywhere. A beautiful wave of young people who wanted to congregate here, in La Serena. “
“They come because they want to be pilgrims of hope and want to participate, not as spectators, but as protagonists of the first National Youth Day that has already begun here, in the Pedro de Valdivia Park, in the city of La Serena. Welcome all, young! Let’s live together this beautiful party so that you are pilgrims of hope! Peregrinos de Esperanza! “He encouraged.
The inauguration was also present the Virgin of Andacollo and the Pilgrim cross, emblem of the day, accompanied by flags of the different dioceses.
The inaugural Mass was celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of La Serena, Mons. Enrique Balzán, who invited young people to think who are marginalized today, and following the example of Jesus, become instruments of inclusion and support for those who need it most .
“You, in a special way, young, open the heart to Jesus. Do not be afraid, because the Lord needs them today, he needs all of us today, ”he encouraged.
Lucas Add, a student at the Catholic University of Chile who participates in the JNJ, he told ACI Press that this day “is the opportunity to know a group of young people with whom we share the faith” and valued the possibility of “being able to share hope and faith with people from different places in Chile. ”
He also considered that the contribution of young people has to do with “helping others to recover hope, showing that young Catholics are many and have faith and hope”, and that the challenge is to be able to transmit them to society in general.
The day continued with spaces for prayer and community work, “Dialogues of hope”, solidarity missions and religious and cultural celebrations in the cities of La Serena and Coquimbo. Many of the activities are open to the community.
On Friday night the viacrucis prayer is planned in the communities where young pilgrims are present, while the main activity of Saturday 25 will be the vigil of Eucharistic worship, which will take place in the monumental lighthouse of La Serena.
On Sunday, January 26, it will be one day for the celebration and thanks, in the Eucharist of Closing that will also be in the Monumental Faro, at 12:00 hours.
More information in www.jnjlaserena.cl.
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.