Diocesan Secretaries and Movement Directors’ Meeting, August 22–24, 2023

The 10th Annual Diocesan Youth Secretaries and Youth Movement Directors Meeting was held at Prabodhan, Pallotine Seminary, Mysore, from August 22–24, 2023. The two-day meeting was inaugurated by Most Rev. Bernard Moras, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mysore, in the presence of Most Rev. Ignatius D'Souza, chairman of the youth commission, Rev. Fr. Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the CCBI, and Fr. Chetan Machado, executive secretary of the youth commission. A total of 102 youth secretaries and animators participated in this meeting. The Most Rev. Bernard Moras celebrated the inaugural Eucharist. He quoted Pope Francis in his homily and asked the youth directors to help young people come forward and take care of the church. Soon after the Eucharist, a brief inaugural ceremony was held where Archbishop Bernard Moras spoke about the responsibilities of youth directors. Most Rev. Ignatius D’Souza, Chairman of the Commission, spoke on the theme, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Fr. Stephen urged the youth secretaries to expand the scope of youth ministry.

On the second day of the meeting, Most Rev. Ignatius D'Souza chaired the plenary session. Fr. Chetan Machado addressed the concerns of the participants. At the end of the plenary, Most Rev. Ignatius D’Souza addressed the youth directors and appreciated the work done by them. He celebrated the Eucharist on August 24th, 2023.

Heads of the other youth movements were invited to this meeting. The national leaders of ICYM and YCS were also invited to this meeting. All the reports (national and regional) were sent to the participants in advance.

Fr. Chetan Machado, National Secretary, CCBI Youth Commission, welcomed the participants and the other invitees. He presented the national report of the commission. The national leaders of ICYM and YCS/YSM presented their activities and financial reports. All the regional secretaries present also presented their regional reports. After each report, there was a brief discussion.

Meeting concluded on August 24, 2023. Fr. Chetan thanked everyone and asked for their continuous support to carry on this ministry at the national level. He thanked Most Rev. William, Bishop of Mysore; Most Rev. Bernard Moras, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese; Fr. Avinash, Youth Director of the Diocese; and Fr. Baros and their team for all the arrangements and hosting the meeting.