A Mass for young Irish emigrants and the children of Irish emigrants in Australia was recently celebrated in Sydney by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Right Rev. Diarmuid Martin, who wished in this way to raise the awareness of his compatriots in World Youth Day which will be held in the Australian city from 15 to 20 July 2008. The national service for youth pastoral care of the Bishops’ Conference of Ireland has long been engaged in the task of bringing as many Irish youth as possible to WYD in Sydney, urging them to book their trip to Australia in good time. There they will be offered accommodation in the same parish of St. Patrick at Bondi beach, where the Archbishop celebrated mass. During his visit to Australia Archbishop Martin also gave an address to the clergy of Melbourne in which he pointed out that “many youth of the dioceses live outside them despite the fact that they received instruction and catechism for many years. For this reason the work of formation of the young must be at the centre of the pastoral action of the parishes. The message of the Gospel is not for ‘yesterday’, but concerns the life of our young people today. Families must contribute to the education of their children to restore their trust in the faith”. The Archbishop lastly hoped for the success of WYD in giving substance to this action of “formation and knowledge of personal faith”. It is estimated that some 10,000 Irish youth live and work in Australia.
