Oblate News

World Youth Day Preparations Are In Full Swing

Our Oblate Youth Team gather at Wistaston Hall

Our Word Youth Day preparations have been in full swing this weekend at Wistaston Hall: Oblate Retreat Centre . It’s been great to see our youth from across the province come together to share in the WYD experience.

20 young people from across the UK and Ireland gathered in Wistaston between 7th – 9th July 2023, to explore what it means to be part of WYD and what it means to them. The weekend allowed them to make new friends and discover the joy of coming together as a community.  Part of the experience was about discovering what a pilgrimage is and what it means to be a pilgrim. For some of our youth, it is their first time attending the WYD pilgrimage so the weekend was a great opportunity to talk through the practicalities of a pilgrimage and the unique elements of World Youth Day; such as camping, WYD Symbols and the impact of encountering faith in action. 

Whilst the young people were with us at Wistaston Hall, we asked them to describe the weekend and how they feel about WYD in their own words. This is what they had to say: 

This was a jam-packed weekend with opportunities to pray, reflect and rest.  They even found time to raise the roof with song and dance as life long friendships were born.

We hold our Oblate Youth in our prayers and thoughts as they journey to Lisbon.  We know they will have a fantastic WYD 2023 and we can’t wait to hear all their stories of their pilgrimage.