On Sunday a small group of us met for the first Youth Sunday afternoon. We spent some time in the youth centre getting to know one another and learning about a new saint, Saint Carlo Acutis, the patron saint of young people. We thought about how we could use our own interests, gifts and talents to serve God.
Carlo was cannonised only last year and some of the young people in our community have been very inspired by his life story.
After exploring a little about Carlo’s life we headed out on the bus and train on a mini pilgrimage to the Church where Saint Carlo was baptised in 1991. A beautiful church in London (in our own Diocese) in the care of the Servites, who were very welcoming to us. On the way we took a break at McDonald’s to energise ourselves.
As we entered the church we were instantly struck by the long hallways display of the Eucharistic Miracles which Carlo had documented on his website printed out in frames. We spent some time reading and then headed into the picturesque church to have a look around. Inside we saw the font where Carlo was baptised, his baptismal certificate displayed on a stand next to the font. We spent some time praying at Carlo’s shrine in front of the relic.
The young people then took part in an activity of choosing one of the Eucharistic miracles which really stood out to them and researching about what took place. They then shared their findings with the rest of the group. Everyone chose a different miracle, some were chosen because of the immediate physical change that could not be denied, some by the enormity of impact and some because of an interest in the location the miracle took place in. The young people were so engaged and interested it felt inspiring for the adults accompanying them.
Next we headed into the church again where we had a mini tour and a little talk from one of the priests. We prayed together and then each received an individual blessing with St Carlo’s relic. We joined the parish for their evening mass before heading home.
It was a very special day.
You can view Saint Carlo Acutis’ website on this link: https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/list.html
Our next youth Sunday session is on the 11th October.
