Florianopolis – Santa Catarina, Brazil (Tuesday, 03/31/2015, Gaudium Press) In the city of Itajai, in Florianopolis, state of Santa Catarina, in the south of Brazil, 1200 young people of the Archdiocese participated in the fourth Archdiocesan Youth Day, organized by the Youth Department of the archdiocese and held in the Parish of Saint Christopher.

Thousands of young people participate in the Archdiocesan Youth Day in Florianopolis – Photo Archdioceses of Florianopolis

Archbishop Wilson Tadeu Jonck, who presided the opening Mass, said that youth are an important part of the life of the archdiocese and that he hopes young people will given themselves to “Christ, live as part of the Church and walk together.”

A highly important moment of the event was the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. According to the coordinator, João Augusto de Farias, “the event exceeded our expectations and rekindled in our young people the flame of the “first love”. From now on, we will strive harder to maintain unity among the many different groups.”

The Church celebrates World Youth Day coinciding with Palm Sunday, and it started with Saint Pope John Paul II, in 1986. At that time, the dioceses around the world organize a concentration with the youth of the parishes and movements, pastoral and new communities, so that the Diocesan Youth Days are held.

The diocesan and archdiocesan youth days take place in years where there are no World Youth Day (WYD) and it happens every three years. (LMI).

From the Editor’s Desk at Gaudium Press, with information from the Archdiocese of Florianopolis