National Youth Sunday
Each November, on the feast of Christ the King, the Church celebrates National Youth Sunday, a day dedicated to supporting Catholic youth ministry.
The aim?
To help young people and adults discern where Christ is calling them to.
We ask for your prayer in the parish to help young Catholics find and maintain their faith in a challenging world.
On National Youth Sunday, we ask all Catholics to pray in their parishes for young Catholics. To help, we produce an annual National Youth Sunday pack, full of spiritual and liturgical resources and activities designed to encourage young people in their journey of faith.
Click here to contact the Youth Desk.
Young people set their hope on the living God
On the feast of Christ the King, 22 November, young people across England and Wales are gathering to celebrate National Youth Sunday.
The 2009 National Youth Sunday links Pope Benedict’s World Youth Day message with the feast of Christ the King. The Pope addresses young people on the theme of hope, saying that although youth is “a special time of hope”, it can also be marked by a “crisis of hope” when difficulties threaten to overwhelm us. He encourages young people to follow the example of St Paul in being witnesses of hope, placing our hope in Christ, the living God.
On 22nd November, young people across England and Wales will gather in their parishes and chaplaincy communities to celebrate Christ’s universal kingship and their place in the Church. This feast day has been chosen by the Bishops of England and Wales as a time to also highlight and celebrate the place of young people in the Church, who learn and live the faith enthusiastically and give generously of their time in voluntary activities.
Visit the official site for National Youth Sunday 2009
Events will be taking place in parishes in every diocese of England and Wales. In preparation for these vibrant local liturgies, young people have been reflecting on the Pope’s message through prayer, Eucharistic adoration, drama and art, and taking the saints as examples of witnesses to hope.
National Youth Sunday is resourcing these events following Pope Benedict’s invitation to celebrate the next two World Youth Days locally, building a “spiritual itinerary” that will culminate in the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid.