The current health situation, the persistent difficulty of moving from one country to another as well as social distancing is preventing the smooth development of the Youth Symposium.
Initially programmed for 2020 after the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit and in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Saint John Paul II; then postponed until October 2021 due to the coronavirus, the Symposium entitled, “Get up! Christ is calling you”, in which delegations from all of the European Bishops’ Conferences as well as numerous young people will participate, is now to be rescheduled for 2022. The CCEE Youth Commission and Catechesis Section, together with the preparatory committee, have again decided to suspend this encounter by one year to guarantee a meeting with participants physically present.
In preparation for this gathering, it was decided to organise a new online meeting with the national delegates of the 5 sections which constitute the various fields of the Symposium – Youth, School, University, Vocations and Catechesis – in November 2021. It will be an occasion to reflect together on what has happened during this recent period, on the new forms of socialisation, on the implications that it will all have on the lives of the youth, and on the new pastoral challenges that await us once the pandemic comes to an end.