Thousands of young people participate in the Marian Youth Eucharistic Day in Covadonga

More than 2,000 young people have braved the incessant rain and witnessed the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the love of the Virgin Mary during the first Marian Youth Eucharistic Day (JEMJ) in the Sanctuary of Covadonga (Asturias, Spain).

Thousands of smiles flooded this unusual enclave of the Asturian mountains, from where the Reconquest of Don Pelayo began after the Muslim invasion in the 7th century, at the feet of the Virgin of Covadonga, known as the “Santina”.

This pioneering meeting, held under the motto “lift up your hearts”, has been possible thanks to the generosity of the volunteers of the “En Marcha” association and the dedication of the nuns of El Hogar de la Madre.

From Friday, July 5 to Sunday, July 7, young people from 14 to 30 years old from Spain and 10 other countries such as Chile and Mexico have been the protagonists of different workshops, listened to testimonies of conversion, prayed the Holy Rosary, participated in a Vigil and worshiped the Eucharist.

Archbishop of Oviedo: The joy of young people is a reason for hope

After the Holy Mass celebrated on Saturday afternoon in the imposing basilica, ACI Prensa was able to speak with the Archbishop of Oviedo, Mons. Jesús Sanz Montes, who defined this event as “a gift from God.”

The host of the meeting recalled that “God always surprises us, he never bores us, and even if he tells us or points out the same thing to us, He never repeats himself.”

He stated that in Covadonga you see young people “who come with their questions, perhaps also with their wounds, with their certainties and hopes, and they open themselves to what God wants to give them, to what the Virgin our Mother suggests to them.”

For the Archbishop, “this is a reason for hope that is seen in their faces, when you see that there is joy and there is a future. Because they are the future and the present of the Church, as Pope Francis reminds us.”

He said he was “very grateful” for this great event and encouraged young people to “dare to search and have the humility to recognize what they were made for.”

“No one is fortuitous, no one has fallen from the sky like a meteorite, but there is an eternal reason. And this is the meaning that every human life and every Christian vocation has,” he expressed.

Mons. Sanz Montes pointed out that young people “are living a story that has not yet been written, they have to put text on those blank pages, some introduction that allows them to understand everything.”

“I would ask you to open yourselves to this kind, peaceful, kind God who is able to embrace us in so many moments where there may be confusion or errors, which are sins. God embraces us to make us new every day. In this embrace of God is born the Christian vocation to which each one has been called and for which we were called to life, the most wonderful adventure,” he highlighted to ACI Prensa.

The “reconquest” of Catholic souls

For Alberto, a volunteer from Asturias, holding an event like this “in the cradle of the Reconquista, is something impressive.”

“I have come as a volunteer to help the Church, and I believe that as a young person I should do so. For me, Santina is my Mother, and the Mother of all Spaniards. Whenever I come to Covadonga I have a special feeling towards Her. I pray the Rosary with Her, I offer Her my joys and my sorrows and She surrounds me with her maternal embrace,” he told ACI Prensa.

For their part, Beatriz and Günther are a couple from Madrid, members of the “En Marcha” association, who have been preparing this meeting for months so that “the richness of living the Catholic faith to the full is recognized, which has that piece of gift that is that “God wanted to remain present with us every day.”

In statements to ACI Prensa, they highlighted that Covadonga “has a special meaning, we wanted the reconquest of Catholic souls to be here, just as many centuries ago Pelayo, with the protection of Santina, set out to reconquer Spain.”

“I hope that young people in love with the Eucharist will also strive for this new reconquest,” they remarked.

They also highlighted “the willingness, dedication and generosity of the volunteers,” who despite the difficulties of the rain “have all helped out of love for the Lord.”

“Many times we judge young people who live their faith superficially, but it is clear that the hearts of young people seek God. The atmosphere is beautiful, of joy and simplicity.”

Regarding a second Day, they affirmed that they are “praying and watching, we propose it as a single day, but seeing the good it is doing we do not rule it out, I hope we can do many and that it will bear many fruits for the Lord, Our Mother and for the church”.

During this weekend, the young people were also able to pray in front of the relic of the Eucharistic miracle of Santa Hijuela, which occurred in the 13th century in Daroca (Diocese of Cuenca, Spain) and they also had the presence of the relics of the future Saint Carlo Acutis.