Your thirst for truth, your cry of peace, your intuition about the future – We need these things!
These were the words of Pope Francis to young people in a speech he delivered on 12 January 2024. They reflect a powerful commission that we young people have received in this generation, which is to be bolder than ever before, to take this restlessness that characterises our culture today and allow it to fuel our efforts to transform our society.
We all know that restlessness… were are surrounded by confusions about our identities, our dignity, our purpose, how we should serve our society, the future, even what God’s presence in our lives looks like. Sometimes it feels impossible to find the answers we crave.
But the answers we seek are here, and our restlessness is a sign that we were created to find these answers. God encoded this into the very blueprint of our design, so these feelings are a crucial part of our human experience and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become overwhelmed or disconnected out of fear. The hunger we have for a sense of belonging, to find our true identities, to find our purpose and to find the truth, this is our commission from God.
We were not born to become “young pensioners,” as Pope Francis warned us we would become if we sat on a sofa all day and did nothing about our restlessness and spiritual hunger.
So let this be the year we RISE UP and say “Here I am,” to our Father who created us with unique dignity, unique purpose, and all the tools we need for the job. Let us open our eyes in wonder at the beauty of the creation we get to be a part of, and let us allow our hearts to be moved by the call of our brothers and sisters in need. Check out the Catholic organisations below and get yourself involved. (This list will continue to grow, so check back regularly!)
Youth 2000 is a major player in Catholic youth culture in the UK. It is an international spiritual initiative established to draw young people to a deep and lasting union with Jesus Christ, placing the Eucharist “the source and summit of the Christian life” at the centre of its mission.
It does this through organising a range of events throughout the year, the most famous of which is their Summer Festival in August, as well as a monthly Holy Hour, and various retreats and other events all over the country.
What is also central to the ministry of Youth 2000 is that its events are “run by young people for young people” and this method of peer to peer ministry, where young people bear witness to and serve their own age group, both in word and action, lies at the heart of its success.
Website: www.youth2000.org
Instagram: @youth2000uk
theASCENT is a three year discipleship process for Catholic young people in years 10-12 who want to embrace their faith in Jesus Christ at a whole new level and learn how to share it with others. At our heart we seek to disciple the few for the sake of the many so that the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth.
Our formation materials are written by qualified individuals with rich expertise in their given area. These areas include, but are not limited to: Catholic Social Teaching, Scripture, Sacraments, Theology of the Body, Charisms, and Apologetics. Participants also receive training in leadership, communication, and reflective skills, as well as developing their character and relationships. We are also committed to investing in our team’s discipleship growth and as such we hold a yearly training weekend for all three location teams to come together, as well as spending an additional optional weekend away together for fellowship, rest, and prayer.
We encourage our young people to serve their localities through involvement with their parish and other Catholic organisations. Our alumni have gone on to serve the wider Church by entering full time ministry post-college and working at a national level with Catholic bodies including CYMFed, Social Action Charities, Catholic Dioceses, and Catholic Student Network.
Website: www.theascentuk.co.uk
Instagram: @theascent_uk
If you’re young and want to stand up for global justice, the Caritas Youth Forum is the place for you.
The Caritas Youth Forum was set up to encourage young people’s participation in Caritas. We hope it will create a greater sense of ownership among young people who work or volunteer with Caritas, in order to help advance the vision and mission of the Caritas confederation.
The worldwide Caritas family can help you find great ways to live out your faith and change the world around you for the better. So learn from each other, share your experiences. Volunteer. Bring our societies closer together. Youth groups and young adults in Caritas around the globe are showing the way to connect with each other to build a better world.
“Through friendship, action for others and reflecting on faith, these inspiring projects show how things can change when you believe in something big,” says youth leader Sarah Burrows from the UK.
Website: www.caritas.org/who-we-are/caritas-youth
Instagram: @caritasyouth
The Catholic Student Network exists to connect, equip and empower Catholic university students across England and Wales so that they can build flourishing Catholic communities where they are and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Catholic Student Network. has been running events and online campaigns since 2017 and became an official charity in 2021. We are a member of CYMFed – Catholic Youth Ministry Federation of England and Wales.
Website: www.catholicstudentnetwork.co.uk
Instagram: @catholicstudentnetwork
OUR VISION is to see the world filled with the praises of God.
We long to see people in the Church inspired and equipped to live out a life of worship to Jesus.
OUR MISSION is to encourage fresh expressions of worship in the Catholic Church.
We will do this by encouraging Spirit filled worship, cultivating creativity in the church, and helping to grow community amongst the emerging generation.
Website: www.onehopeproject.co.uk/home
Instagram: @onehopeproject
Joel’s Bar is the young adults ministry of CELEBRATE Trust which has run Catholic Charismatic events for the last 28 years serving those aged 16-28!
At Joel’s Bar (JB) we are passionate about seeing young people inspired and equipped to live an authentic Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit. We long for all young people to realise their call to live in a relationship with a loving God. We offer a space for young adults to encounter the living God and explore their faith in an environment that is built on community and fellowship. We believe there is something for everyone at JB with our timetable made up of various ways to engage both with God and each other. This includes the sacraments, Praise and Worship, Prayer ministry, personal prayer, small group discussion, workshops, sports, evenings of entertainment and lots of time to socialise and build community in our Cafe and Bar!
Website: www.joelsbar.co.uk
Instagram: @joelsbar
The Hakuna Foundation’s mission is to promote universal values, especially among young people. It does this through disciplines such as training, art and music, social action projects, travel, etc. Our pillars are openness, creativity, free commitment and revolution.
The Hakuna Foundation has a group in London, which is seeking to grow more groups in other parts of the UK. Its main event is a weekly Holy Hour held in central London, and its members get involved with both local and international Hakuna events, retreats and social action projects.
Website: fundacionhakuna.org
Instagram: @behakuna_en
Cor et Lumen Christi are a movement of communities who live out a particular charism combining contemplation with a life of mission and worship; they host a number of outreach events for the public that testify God’s very active presence and involvement in our lives.
“With the Eucharist as our heart, we are seeking to build a spiritual extended family in which all the vocational states of life are at home. A community which lives a radical Christian vocation as a living prophetic sign. A place where Catholics can find harmony between: the charismatic life and social responsibility, community life and missionary outreach, joyful praise and worship and silent contemplation.” (from their website)
Website: www.coretlumenchristi.org/index.php
Instagram: @clcfirebrands_wildfire
Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism is a Spirit-led community. We are called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and equip others for the task of evangelisation.
Guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we seek to be a prophetic sign of hope through our work, words and witness of life.We are a community of disciples on mission, laity and clergy working together to make the Good News of Jesus Christ known.
For more than 30 years we have been running parish missions and school missions across the UK. Alongside our school ministry, we also run programmes to enable young people and families to grow in faith.
At our residential training centre SENT in Brentwood Essex, we run a variety of courses including the popular Beloved weekends for women.
Website: sioncommunity.org.uk
Instagram: @sionyouthteam
CELEBRATE Trust is a Catholic ministry that inspires and equips people of all ages to live an authentic Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit, in support of the family, to form the next generation and encourage local community.
Through our network of volunteers, we run events, host a variety of online activities, and produce resources to grow and sustain faith.
CELEBRATE Trust is represented within Marriage and Family for the Bishop’s Conference for England and Wales.
Website: www.celebratetrust.org
Instagram: @celebratetrust
The Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFed) is working for a world in which there is a vibrant Youth Ministry in every Catholic Community. It leads and collaborates on projects which give young people an experience of the national and international Church, as well as shaping and promoting Catholic youth ministry by providing quality training & formation and an opportunity to share best practice.
It is perhaps best known for the Flame Congress, the largest Catholic youth event in the UK, and it also runs a number of other exciting youth events throughout the year.
Website: cymfed.org.uk
Instagram: @flamecongress