Iuventutem At World Youth Day 2005

by Gregory Flash

‘In the great Cathedral in Cologne are honoured the relics of the Magi, the Wise Men from the East who followed the star which led them to Christ. As pilgrims, your spiritual journey to Cologne starts today. Christ awaits you there for the Twentieth World Youth Day! May the Virgin Mary, our Mother on our pilgrimage of faith, be with you on the way.’

With these words His Holiness the Pope has invited the youth of the world to attend this year’s World Youth Day in Cologne, which will take place between 15th and 21st August.

Some of the readers of this magazine may not be familiar with the concept of the World Youth Days as the British media have paid little attention to them. This is surprising since these events, which first started in 1986, have been remarkably successful and have always drawn very large crowds from across the world. Over a million people attend the closing Mass of the World Youth Day in Manila in the Philippines in 1995, for example.

The concept is simple: the Holy Father invites the young to gather for a few days in summer to pray together, to get to know one another and to be inspired to be fearless and faithful ambassadors of Christ in the wider world. These gatherings provide a pleasing contrast to the often debauched and destructive music festivals that take place in the summer. They have also often served to galvanise the Church in the countries in which they take place (such as Denver, Colorado in 1993 and Paris in 1997).

This year a group of young people who are attached to the traditional forms of liturgy will be attending the World Youth Day. It is the first time such a group is taking an official part in the event, though by no means the first time traditionally minded young people have attended the World Youth Day. The name of the group is ‘Juventutem’, Latin for youth, a name taken from psalm 42 which the priest recites at the foot of the altar in the traditional Latin Mass (which readers can attend every Sunday at 9.00am in the Oratory) – ‘I shall enter unto the altar of God, to the God who gives joy to my youth’. Nowadays there is a cult of youth as if it were a value in itself. This is neither good for young people, nor for society in general. That is why we have chosen a name which refers to the only genuine youth that there is, the one dependent not on numbers of years or cosmetic manipulation, but rather that spiritual youth which flows from humble and confident familiarity with Divine Grace.

The organisers of the group Juventutem hope for two sorts of benefits from their attendance at the World Youth Day. First of all working together within Juventutem will provide the various religious communities who are attached to the traditional Latin Mass (such as the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, the Benedictines of Le Barroux in France, the Apostolic Administration of Campos in Brazil and many others) with an opportunity to know each other better, enabling them better to serve Holy Mother Church. Also, the young people coming from over 30 countries will have a unique opportunity to meet each other and make useful contacts. They will see that their attachment to Catholic Tradition is shared by many young men and women of their age and sometimes from very different backgrounds.

Second, Juventutem will help make those who love the traditional forms of worship of the Church better known to three sectors of the population coming from all over the world: the young, the clergy, and the media. Many of these people either hear about those attached to the traditional liturgy in unreliable reports and caricatures or even do not know them at all. If these people are allowed to see those attached to the traditional Latin Mass for what they are, with their wide variety of origins and cultures, as joyful people of goodwill, using the traditional rite and spirituality not to shut themselves off from the modern world but to help to convert it and bring it to Our Lord, then many of the misconceptions about the wider traditionalist cause will have been dispelled.

In order to prepare spiritually for the World Youth Day and the Holy Father’s visit, those joining the Juventutem group will be able to spend 5 days in Bavaria, from 10th to 14th August before going on to spend 6 days in Cologne. Only those taking part in Juventutem will be present for the week in Bavaria. About 2,000 young people and about 60 priests and religious are expected. They will be based in Catholic Bavaria, next to the international seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Wigratzbad, 10 miles from the magnificent Lake Constance, and 3 miles from Austria and Switzerland. Pilgrims will sleep in tents, in a camp along a small river which will be equipped with water, showers and everything required by the high standards of German regulations. The week will include visits to Neuschwanstein, Ludwig II of Bavaria’s Disneyesque castle, Masses in some of the beautiful baroque churches of the area (such as the colossal abbey church of Ottobeuren), walks in the Bavarian alps and visits to towns on Lake Constance.

Every day there will be the traditional Latin Mass and sung Gregorian Vespers or Lauds; doctrinal teaching in several languages by traditional clerics and theologians (the main theme being the seven sacraments); continuous Eucharistic adoration; daily opportunities to meet priests for discussion and to receive the sacrament of Confession. In the evening there will be a period of recreation and meditation ending with sung Compline.

In Cologne there will be meetings with other groups taking part in the World Youth Day for meals, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and various activities in the evening, on top of the events organised centrally by the World Youth Day committee. There will be time to venerate the relics of the Three Wise Men kept at the Cathedral since the Middle Ages. The Holy Father will arrive in Cologne in the afternoon of Thursday 18th August, and the World Youth Day will close with the Papal Mass on Sunday 21st.

Various bishops from around the world will visit the Juventutem group and give catechetical lectures. There will also be meetings with pro-life associations, an exhibition of sacred vestments and vessels, and artistic commentaries on famous classical Christian paintings projected on large screens. Other activities are currently being planned. A wholly professional choir will perform daily either during Mass or at Vespers or for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. They will sing various compositions from the classical repertoire (works by Palestrina, Mozart, Fauré, etc) as well as more recent Catholic music. There will also be frequent opportunities for non-professional youth to sing Gregorian chant and hymns, and polyphony according to circumstances. Those who wish will be able to attend special classes to be trained in choral singing.

So who should consider taking part in the Juventutem project? Certainly, those young people (in the 18–30 age bracket) who are already attached to the traditional Latin Mass. However, those young people who are not very familiar with the traditional liturgy, or who don’t know about it at all, should feel most welcome to take part too, as the Juventutem project presents a wonderful opportunity to get to know the riches of the Church’s tradition in friendly and relaxed surroundings. Also, those not in the first flush of youth should not feel excluded; they are warmly invited to support the initiative by their prayers, by making it known to their children, brothers and sisters and friends, and by making contributions to the cost of the project, be it by sponsoring young persons to attend, or by contributing to the central costs (such as the hire of tents, coaches and food and drink).

Any and all questions should be sent by email, marked for the attention of Gregory Flash and addressed to englandandwales@juventutem.com or by post to Gregory Flash, 36 Royal Avenue, London, SW3 4QF.