Young Pilgrims of Hope

"Spread hope with your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith!"

This was Pope Leo XIV's final greeting to the multitude of pilgrims who had come to Rome from around the world for the Youth Jubilee. As the Pauline Family, we prepared and lived a special Jubilee experience, welcoming and accompanying the young people who had come for the Jubilee.

We gathered from July 24th to August 4th, hosted by the Society of St. Paul, 55 young representatives of the Pauline Family institutes (22 countries). The event included days of entertainment at the Basilica of St. Paul, featuring the Well of the Word, an exhibition on the life of St. Paul, and three tents: Faith, Hope, and Charity. It was an opportunity to rediscover and savor the richness of being a Pauline Family and the gift of our charism.

We experienced days of grace and, together, the joy of a living and universal Church. This experience was filled with gratitude, resonating in the testimonies of some of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd who participated:

"I thank our Good Shepherd for this experience, so full of meaning and richness, which I carry in my heart today. It is the fruit of sharing as a Pauline Family, of feeling ourselves to be true brothers and sisters, children of Fr. Alberione. All this, combined with the opportunity to meet Pope Leo XIV up close, gives me great hope, because our religious family and our charism will continue to grow and win many more hearts for the proclamation of the Kingdom.

Grateful to the Lord for what I have received in these days, I could summarize in two words what this experience has meant to me: the strength of communion as the Pauline Family and the responsibility to believe in it and to continue walking together in proclaiming Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, to today's world.

This experience has been edifying for me. I have experienced a different sense of Pauline Family, because I have established more meaningful relationships, living together with people I would never have had the opportunity to know, but whom the Jubilee has given me the grace to meet. In the Basilica of St. Paul, I met young people with moved hearts and a deep desire for God, which filled my heart with hope. In these days, I have met people who have shown me hope, and I have felt profound gratitude to God for this beautiful experience.

As the Pauline Family, we have truly united in our diversity. I am deeply grateful: it has been a truly wonderful experience. We feel as if we belong to one large family. We speak 11 different languages, but language is not a barrier: love is what unites us all. I have come to understand that we are all communicators, not only with words, but also through gestures of love, kindness, and friendship. As we were reminded in the final Mass: We are created for an existence that is regenerated in giving, in love. This hope helps young people discover the meaning of their lives.

The richness of diversity has led us to know one another; the experience of being a family has allowed us to touch the love of God that manifests itself to every person.

sr. Noemia, sr. Leidy, sr. Evelin, sr. Saturnina, sr. Sara, sr Gjystina and sr. Paola, sjbp