Hispanic Ministry / Felix Navarrete

Hispanic Ministry office hosts youth ministry gathering as part of its Pastoral Juvenil Hispana program

(En Espanol)

About 120 young people, with their parents and other relatives, gathered on May 20 in Indianapolis at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center for a Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (Hispanic Youth Ministry) gathering. The initiative was hosted by the archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as part of its strategic plan.

In order to ensure the active participation of young people in the Church, we need new faces that represent a new generation of Catholic leaders, empowered by the Gospel with joy and a desire to serve.

For several years, the Church throughout the world has identified an imminent need to attract new generations to ecclesial life. This need has also been recognized by Pope Francis throughout his papacy, insisting on youths having a role. The archdiocesan initiative is intended to equip as many young people as possible with the necessary tools to train a new generation of missionary disciples, who will take the message of a living Christ to one of the sectors that most needs attention: our youths.

The Pastoral Juvenil program will serve as a bridge of connections between parishes and the archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry. We want to consolidate a team of leaders who serve as a resource for both our priests and the Latino community, and that at the same time can be a space for reception and welcome for all young immigrants who still do not identify with the local Church because of culture and, especially, language differences.

We want to reach the outskirts of our archdiocese and establish closer and more fraternal relations with the deaneries in southern Indiana, where the Hispanic population is increasing.

During the Pastoral Juvenil event, we were blessed to have the participation of a group of young people from the New Albany Deanery. This encourages us to continue our efforts to achieve inclusion that is not only limited to culture but also to ages.

Until now, the team of leaders has been made up of 10 young people from different parishes, but more providential has been the cultural diversity they represent: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua are represented in this new intercultural effort in which young people are the leaders.

The joy of the Gospel was evident during the meeting where people sang and praised Jesus to the rhythm of musician Darwin Lechler, a singer-songwriter from Mexico. He is recognized among the Latino community for his participation in the Cielo Abierto Mexico experience, a space where eucharistic adoration through music is promoted.

It was not one or two but many who raised their voices in unison, singing “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah we sing forever” while jumping and raising their arms in victory. The event culminated with Jesus present in the Eucharist. It was as if all there experienced his presence. We believe Jesus continues to perform miracles, and that day was no exception—the miracle of seeing the spontaneous smiles of so many, the tears of others and the emotion of so many was part of a great miracle of seeing a young community gathered at the feet of their teacher.

It is worth noting the effort and dedication of archdiocesan team members, who became living instruments for the extension of God’s kingdom, and the support of María “Cuquis” del Refugio Romero, who will serve as advisor to the archdiocesan Pastoral Juvenil program. We also appreciate the participation of Paul Sifuentes, executive director of archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Ministries, and the words of encouragement that were dedicated by members of the LaRED National Catholic Network of Hispanic Youth Ministry through a prerecorded video that was projected to start the event. “Our prayers, our love and our gratitude for all that you are doing in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis,” were the words of Adriana Visoso, president of LaRED, at the start of the gathering.

Our young people, in their continuing preparation for lay formation, also participated this summer on June 18-24 in the National Leadership Program “Symposium for an Integral Pastoral Juvenil,” which took place at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill.
 

(Felix Navarrete is archdiocesan coordinator of Hispanic Ministry.) †