HONG KONG (SE): The new elements in the Diocesan Youth Day celebration, scheduled for October 9 this year, will be good news for young hikers. Under the theme, My Miles, it is in line with the one chosen by Pope Francis for diocesan-level celebrations of World Youth Day from 2022 to 2023: “Mary arose and went with haste” [Luke 1:39].
Participants will travel to historical chapels, restored by the diocesan working committee of “Following Thy Way”, along the hiking routes in Sai Kung in a “checkpoint” game to look for the meaning of the message.
Gary Au Ka-wai of the Diocesan Youth Commission, in charge of the event, said participants would be given tasks for their journey to the old chapels to draw inspiration from early missionaries.
He hopes participants will learn from the example of Mary, who travelled with haste to the hill country of Judea to meet Elizabeth. Her journey to visit was not easy either. “Mary took a tough journey to bring her joy to Elizabeth, which is a reminder for us to share the joy of the gospel in our own community,” the youth pastoral worker said.
“As early missionaries had to overcome many obstacles in their journeys, the event also intends to encourage young people to overcome the trials in their journeys of faith,” he said.
The participants will gather at the Sai Kung Sung Tsun Catholic School, where they will receive instructions about the game. The commission will also arrange shuttle buses to bring them to the nearest hiking routes for the chapels.
He believes participants will welcome the programme, as hiking has become a popular leisure activity in the pandemic, considering that travelling abroad is difficult at present. Young people from parishes or other communities can sign up for the event online after the first Sunday of August when posters about the event arrive at different parishes.
The Pastoral Guideline for the Celebration of World Youth Day in Particular Churches issued by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life recommend pilgrimage as one of the elements for local World Youth Day celebrations, offering the possibility of journeying together and experiencing fraternity.
Started in 1986, World Youth Days are worldwide encounters with the pope, and the Diocese of Hong Kong has been organising a Diocesan Youth Day since 2007 so that local young people can gather together and share the pope’s message.
The next World Youth Day is scheduled for August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
