By Jacinta W. Odongo
Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference
The National Youth event, which kicks-off next month from December 14-18, will be held in the Diocese of Jinja in Tororo Ecclesiastical Province. The NYD is a Church’s Day event for young people, and is typically celebrated every year in different dioceses after the World Youth Celebration presided over by the Pope.
It is an opportunity for the youth to experience the universality of the church, to deepen their faith and grow closer to Christ in their daily lives, by means of prayer and the sacraments, together with other young people. This year’s celebration will run under the theme,“Blessed are the Merciful, for They Shall Receive Mercy” extracted from Mathew 5:8.
The National Youth Coordinator of the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC), Joyce Zako said that by coming together, young people are able to discuss their most intimate aspirations and experience the Church as communion, and make a commitment to the urgent task of new evangelization.
“This celebration helps to strengthen and enkindle the apostolate in the host Arch/diocese, to provide an opportunity for the youth to live and share in the universality of the Church, that in Christ we are indeed one and to create awareness among the youth on topical issues within their community and encourage them to become change agents,” she said.
She added “As Catholic youth, they contribute towards helping each other to know and experience the different realities in the North, East, South, West and Central, thus promoting solidarity. In doing so, they join hands, forming an immense circle of friendship; uniting in faith all the different cultures God has endowed Uganda with.”
Meanwhile, during the week of NYD, there will be a number of activities including a welcoming ceremony, way of the cross, catechesis, confessions, devotions and reconciliation activities. There will also be other entertaining activities which include tourism, sports competitions, cultural exhibitions and cultural music performances.
Most Rev. Emmanuel Obbo, the Archbishop of Tororo Ecclesiastical Province will preside over the final Holy Mass of the NYD. Other bishops who will concelebrate include the Bishop Chairman of the Lay Apostolate Commission (LAC) of the UEC, Bishop of Jinja Diocese, Bishops of the LAC and all the Bishops from Tororo Ecclesiastical Province.
This will be the second time for the diocese of Jinja to host the NYD celebration, the first being in 1996. The NYD celebration was inaugurated in 1993 in Tororo Archdiocese.