(SE): The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life announced the appointment of the new members of the International Youth Advisory Body [IYAB] on October 7. The advisory body is composed of 20 young people from different regions across the world and several international movements, associations and communities.
The IYAB was established following a proposal in the final document of the 2018 Synod of Bishops on Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment to support the dicastery’s Youth Office, with appointed members serving for a three-year term [Sunday Examiner, 31 November 2019]. The first group first met in April 2020 and held its fourth and final meeting from 25 to 27 November 2023.
The new advisory body has members who come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, France, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, United States and Zimbabwe. It is slated to have its first meeting in December in Rome.
The website of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, reported that at the conclusion of its final meeting, after a four-year period of activity which spanned the Covid-19 pandemic, the outgoing members of the IYAB had an informal audience with Pope Francis at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, accompanied by Gleison De Paula Souza, secretary of the dicastery; Father Joao Chagas the youth office coordinator, the young members were received.
The pope underlined the joy and enthusiasm that the members of the advisory body have been able to maintain throughout their four-year mandate, with dedication and a spirit of service.
It was emphasised how the advisory body has contributed to keeping the flame of the youth synod alive, playing a crucial role in fostering a deeper desire for synodality.
The dicastery website reported that the efforts of the IYAB have borne fruit not only within the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life but also have become a precious resource with other dicasteries in the Roman Curia, as well as in the members’ countries and dioceses.
