Makati (Philippines). On 6 August 2023, in communion with the hundreds of thousands of young people who celebrated World Youth Day in Lisbon, the young people of the Salesian realities of the Philippines experienced the local Salesian WYD in Makati, at Don Bosco Technical Institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
The event was organized in collaboration between the SDB Provinces of St. John Bosco (FIN) and Mary Help of Christians (FIS), and St. Mary D. Mazzarello (FIL) of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, with their respective Youth Ministry teams, composed mostly by animators.
More than 500 participants were present at the encounter, including FMA, SDB, lay missionaries, aspirants, Novices, and young people from schools, formation centers, centers for vulnerable youth, colleges, oratories, and youth centers.
The Day, celebrated on the Feast of the Transfiguration, had the objective of offering the young participants a quality experience in the encounter with Christ. The activities were centered on reflection starting from the WYD theme, “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39), through prayer and meditation on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, and moments of shared reflection. Furthermore, all had the opportunity to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, thanks to the presence of a good number of SDB priests.
The main task of the FMA FIL SYM team was to animate prayer and the liturgy, creating an atmosphere of deep spirituality. There was also the vocational stand of the FMA, prepared by the Communities of the Houses of Formation, and some animators were involved with the documentation team.
The participants were divided into three groups according to the names of the little shepherds of Fatima, in Portugal: Lucia, Francesco, and Jacinta. Another significant moment of the activities was the sharing of the young people represented for each group, who recounted how they responded “quickly” to society’s problems in the light of the documents Laudato Si’, Christus Vivit, and Fratelli Tutti.
One of the participants was an alumnus of Mary Help of Christians School in Canlubang, who currently works as a public-school teacher, whose classroom food drive last year attracted national press attention.
The day culminated with the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr. Gerardo Martin, SDB, Provincial of the FIN Province.
The event highlighted the contribution of Salesian Youth Spirituality, an effect of the dynamic vitality of the Salesian Family’s commitment and a testimony of faith, unity, and the transformative force that arises when a community is united in purpose and spirit, which determined the success of the local World Day of Salesian Youth.
