Parish Youth Pilgrimage

On the 3rd October, 67 pilgrims aged 14 - 26 years, embarked on an incredible pilgrimage experience for 4 days, travelling to Warrnambool; there they experienced a profound passing of the Holy Spirit and a time filled with immense joy and communion bestowed upon them by God.

Jeremy Atkinson shares the experience:

Our journey began Thursday morning 3rd October, when 67 Pilgrims, aged 14 - 26 years, and Catechists from the Neocatechumenal Way gathered at St Paul’s Church in Coburg. Departing on our buses, we traveled to Ballarat, where we participated in Midday Mass at the Cathedral. The Cathedral graciously provided lunch, after which we took part in a popular mission through the streets of Ballarat following Father Ed the dean of the Cathedral as we sang songs and announced the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The day continued with our arrival at Warra Gnan Coastal Camp in Warrnambool, where we ended our day with evening prayer and a catechesis on Jonah, who tried to escape God's plan. Jonah repented and committed to fulfilling God’s mission. His eventual journey to Nineveh and the success of his mission there taught us about the transformative power of obedience and repentance.

On Friday we traveled to Penola where we dedicated our morning prayer to the legacy of Mary Mackillop and spent the day exploring the inspiring spaces of the Mary Mackillop Penola Centre and town. We learned how Mary Mackillop established the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and devoted her life to providing education and care to those in need, despite facing significant challenges and opposition. Her unwavering faith and determination inspired us to persevere in our own missions. We finished the day with evening prayer and a catechesis on the Holy Family of Nazareth and the importance of a Christian Family.

Saturday started with morning prayer where we were met by the 29 Pilgrims from Adelaide Neocatechumenal communities and a catechesis on Blessed Carlo Acutis at St Joseph’s Church. Blessed Carlo was a young Italian teenager known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist and his passion for using technology to share his faith. Despite his youth, Carlo created a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles from around the world, demonstrating his belief that the Internet could be a powerful tool for evangelization. He lived a life of simplicity and charity, offering his suffering from leukemia for the intentions of the Church and the Pope. His example taught us the importance of integrating faith into every aspect of our daily lives and using our unique gifts to serve God's kingdom. After Morning Prayer we had a popular mission through the streets of Warrnambool braving the inclement weather, the young Pilgrims were filled with joy. The day finished with a beautiful Eucharist all together.

We concluded our pilgrimage on Sunday with Morning Prayer featuring experiences from two of our seminarians from the Redemptoris Mater Seminaries, Sebastian and James, who spoke about their call to the priesthood and life in the Seminary. We then did a vocational call and with hearts full of grace and gratitude, we departed Warrnambool.

This pilgrimage was truly a remarkable expression of God’s love and the Holy Spirit’s power. It filled us with great joy and communion.