Fr José Miguel Núñez, Coordinator of Vocational Animation for the Spain-Mary Help of Christians Province (SMX), recalled the convocation of the Synod on Youth with which the Church wants to listen to young people and give them ample space.
"Young people are not a transitory stage, they are not the future, they are the present", said the Salesian.
"A truly meaningful Youth Ministry is a Youth Ministry of high quality which responds to the pastoral action of the Salesian Pastoral Educational Project (PEPS), where everything is pastoral: sport, catechesis, artistic life ... Everything contributes. And that proposal of pastoral quality must lead us to have Jesus Christ meet with young people."
Fr Nuñez explained that at the moment the Youth Ministry of the Province is strengthening, thanks to the Educational Itinerary of the Faith as the backbone of Salesian Youth Ministry.
At the same time he presented the "Comunità Bartolomé Blanco" of Seville as a proposal for a "path of vocational discernment": it is a welcoming community that wants to serve and accompany young people.
The youth meetings took place on 13 January in Valencia, with the participation of 250 people; on 27 January in Villena, with over 500 participants; on 3 February, in Zaragoza, 150 people took part.
"A good opportunity it was to strengthen the bonds that unite us, to nourish our being educators starting from the originality of each one of us and, above all, to continue to feel like a family," added Fr Gómez.
These meetings, which take place annually, are attended by Salesians and members of the Salesian Family, professors, catechists, educators, animators of youth centers and faith groups. The events are used to offer formation workshops on a topic related to Youth Ministry.
