Witnessing Hope: Our Jubilee of Youth & Lasallian Gathering

The Jubilee of Youth as part of the Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope for the Church was celebrated in Rome from July 28th to August 3rd and the District of Ireland Great Britain and Malta was represented by Beti and Brandon from Kintbury who have reflected below on a memorable experience.

This summer, we had the incredible privilege to represent our Lasallian District at two remarkable events in Rome: the Jubilee of Youth and the International Lasallian Gathering.

Our week began in St. Peter’s Square, surrounded by thousands of young people from across the globe, as Pope Leo XIV blessed us with powerful words. He encouraged us to be agents of hope, peace, and justice, urging: “Pray for peace... you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world! … We want peace in the world!”

We also visited the Open House at San Giuseppe, where we went deeper into our Founder’s legacy, with some activities and games. It renewed our sense of purpose and mission.

On Thursday, about 350 pilgrims of hope gathered from around the world at the Generalate for the International Lasallian Gathering. We prayed, reflected, and shared stories of faith and service, all rooted in our Lasallian mission.

Hearing Br. Armin’s message was especially inspiring: “The world has always been shaped by dreamers.” He reminded us that our Lasallian spirit calls us to dream big and believe in God’s call through our service.

At the end of the week in the Tor Vergata field, during a Mass at the closing of the Jubilee, Pope Leo said to over one million young Catholics reminding us that we are, "the sign that a different world is possible", grounded in faith, dialogue, friendship, and compassion.

Together, these moments renewed our passion for living out the Lasallian pillars of faith, service, and community. We are deeply grateful for every conversation, prayer, smile, and shared moment of hope. We journey onward, strengthened by this encounter and ready to live as dreamers for God’s world.

Special thanks to Heather for making this possible and the District of IGBM for giving us this opportunity.