Artykuły
“Love Never Fails” – A search for clues at the Swiss World Youth Day in Lugano
A Saturday morning in beautiful Lugano. The Swiss World Youth Day has begun. Around 800 young people have arrived – from Valais, Ticino, Zurich, Geneva and Graubünden. Among them: a magenta red “Let’s Talk” banner, a book table and three people who find their place in the crowd. We from the YOUCAT Foundation are there for the first time – with books, with talks, with a stand presenting our new book for the first time: YOUCAT Love Forever.
The stand as a place of encounter
It is a narrow strip within many tables of Catholic organizations who have all come for World Youth Day and are looking forward to talking to young people. At our stand, young people are leafing through a YOUCAT or DOCAT again and again, but above all through the new reading sample of “Love Forever”. Someone across the table calls out to us: “Love never fails, that’s so true!” – from 1 Corinthians. The topics that come up again and again in the conversations are: What sustains a relationship? Why is marriage not just a contract? What does the church think about sexuality and what does it have to do with freedom?
Workshop insight into the new book
Later in the afternoon, we gather with two groups of young people. We sit down in a circle of chairs, each with a prayer to St. Joseph and the reading sample of “YOUCAT Love Forever”. We start with a prayer, read a piece and talk about the questions together. The conversations develop slowly. It’s about words that sound big – indissolubility, fidelity, sacrament. But also about experiences, uncertainties, contradictions. Some ask questions, others simply listen. The atmosphere remains calm, serious – not dogged, but attentive. The main focus is on what the Church says, why it says it and what it all has to do with you.
Moments that moved us
During the supporting program, people sing, dance and pray. The language changes constantly – French, Italian, German. Everyone is searching together: for connection, for meaning, for faith. We experience an approachable community that is interested in and enthusiastic about each other’s concerns. We are particularly moved by the testimonies about YOUCAT. Leticia says: “YOUCAT is Home! YOUCAT has accompanied my whole youth”. Johann reports: “As a child I had the YOUCAT for Kids, now my siblings have it and I read the yellow YOUCAT”. A group of girls scurry past and one of them exclaims: “The new book! That’s the only one I’m still missing!”
We take these impressions home with us: voices, questions, faces. Thank you to everyone who made this special experience possible!
We go on strengthened – trusting that the church is young, alive and full of hope and that it needs our mission!
YOUCAT Digital
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