Associations
On Sunday 2nd October, a solemn Pontifical Mass in St Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna marked the beginning of the celebrations for the 70th birthday of the Austrian Catholic Youth, Katholische Jugend (Kj). The delegate for the youth pastoral service of the Austrian Bishops Conference, the auxiliary bishop of Vienna, Stephan Turnovszky, pointed out that, at the age of 70, the Kj “is still young and youth-oriented”. Founded in 1946, it has always aimed at “making sense of the new cells of faith that exist in Austria”, pointed out Turnovsky, quoting Matthew’s Gospel, “You are the salt of the earth”, for “a vibrant, powerful church for young people”. Bishop Turnovszky sees “people’s point of view as well as young people’s perspective” as the starting point for the efforts of Kj, with faith in Jesus Christ as the existential foundation. The honorary president of the association, Vera Hofbauer, noticed how glad one should be for these 70 years spent in the light “of the many young people who have worked hard as part of Kj and have been led by it for a long stretch of their life and faith”. The Eucharist opened a number of initiatives that will go hand in hand with the celebrations. First and foremost, the “Uncompromising 72 hours”, a highly social and charitable event jointly organised by Kj, Young Caritas and Radio Örf3, all over Austria from 19th to 22nd October.
