Fr. Ronald Richard
The Archdiocesan Youth Commission of the Archdiocese of Madras — Mylapore has come a long way in its journey since May 2021. With my appointment as the Director of the Youth Commission by our one shepherd His Grace Most Rev. Dr. George Antonysamy (Archdiocesan Archbishop), I was very keen to implement many activities for the betterment of the lives of the archdiocesan youth. However, organizing the youth during the pandemic was not easy. Across the archdiocese, each youth group had different interests and various approaches of working model. This has become a major challenge for the Archdiocesan Youth Commission to create a network.
Some parish youth had a bad opinion from their parish priest and parishioners and they had allegations that they pursue low spiritual behaviour, and spend more money in the name of decorations and other fun activities. This actually decreased self-esteem on each individual of the parish youth which reflected in less contribution towards parish activities. Also they had no guide or inspirations even from neighbouring parishes if they have to initiate any new activity.
Therefore, Initially at the time of pandemic, with the aim of organizing youth virtually under a cause, I took the initiative of daily GMeet prayer. The daily GMeet prayer has been organized and planned by St. Mary’s Archdiocesan Prayer Group since May 24, 2021, till today. Each day, a parish youth team hosts the 20-minute prayer with regulated agenda that includes Saint Speech and General Awareness speech. This daily prayer is the platform where our youth can connect and grow in their faith and to build a strong network. It has brought the youth of the archdiocese together, and they have gained a sense of belongingness.
Following the prayer, many archdiocesan groups were started for the development of the archdiocesan youth. These groups include St. Thomas Media Team, St. Antony’s Speakers’ Team, St. Cecilia Musicians and Singers Group, Bl. Carlo CS Community, Christ Career Community, Good Samaritan Group, St. David’s Dance Team, St. Paul’s Press Team, St. Mathew’s Bankers Group, and more. The groups aim to hone the skills of the youth in different areas and give them a chance to serve the community.
Besides the groups, many archdiocesan youth challenges were announced such as the 555 Challenge, 100 Days Mass challenge, LDM challenge (Lenten Days Mass Challenge), and more. Each archdiocesan group also started to host its ceremonies such as 24 Hour Rosary, Annaiyin Aravanaipil, 550 Day Daily Prayer Pontifical Mass, Annual Bible Quiz competition, Annual Singing competition, food servicing campaigns, beach cleaning campaigns, and more. With more involvement from the parish youth, all the event notifications occurring in parishes and vicariates are shared with other youth in the archdiocese. This strong network made the youth to plan big spiritual, social events with their parish team. This network acted as a spine for many parish youth to get knowledge and communicate for strategies.
I have been traveling and visiting 110+ parishes out of 133 parishes in the archdiocese, encouraging their activities and plans. One of the important achievements is that more than 118+ parishes are affiliated with the Archdiocesan Youth Commission. The Commission’s efforts have brought the youth of the archdiocese closer, and they have gained a sense of purpose and responsibility.
We always strive and appreciate our archdiocesan youth to implement the 50–30–20 strategy. This strategy implies that initiatives and activities organized by youth should be 50% of spiritual, 30% of social related, and 20% of cultural engagement. Archdiocesan Youth Commission believes this strategy creates a positive impact in the lives of our archdiocesan youth.
The future plans of the commission include Job Fair, World Youth Day trip, and servicing to help those in need, and more uncountable. Despite the problems and challenges we are facing, the Commission aims to create opportunities for the youth to grow in their faith, skills, and service to the community.
Even with all these strategies and plans, we still have some parish youth to take part in contribution towards their parish, social, and soft skills. And we are helping them to grow in their faith and social values with their fellow youth in the parish.
After the pandemic youth as a group coming together for a cause becomes a great challenge for me, with the help of the Almighty we overcame the challenge however still youth have to be more responsible. We as a team working for the progress of the youth in various means.
In conclusion, the Archdiocese Youth Commission of the Archdiocese of Madras — Mylapore has been making remarkable progress since May 2021. The future of the Archdiocese Youth Commission looks bright, and it aims to continue making a positive impact on the youth of the archdiocese. As in Philippians 4:13 said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me” and I am believing that through Christ, God is strengthening the youth of our archdiocese.
(Fr. Ronald Richard, Archdiocesan Youth Director, Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore. B.Sc. Mathematics at Loyola College, Chennai. M. A. Philosophy.
Ordained as priest on 23rd April 2017. Three years worked as Assistant to the parish priest. One year as Vice-Rector at Minor Seminary. Born at Chennai, Georgetown. Parish: Assumption Church.)
