Young Leaders´s Pilgrimage

From 17 to 22 July, a pilgrimage for young leaders took place in Rabat, Morocco, with the participation of 12 young people from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Slovenia, Poland, Senegal, Togo and the Western Hemisphere.

The motto that motivated us was ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. As in the Forum for Chaplains and members of Spirituality Teams, it was proposed to the young women to undertake this pilgrimage, each one receiving a map on which different stages of the journey were marked.

In each of them we experienced the encounter with oneself, the encounter with nature, the encounter with others, and the encounter with God. And also, each stage had a symbol to represent it. The encounter with oneself was represented by a Backpack that accompanied us throughout the pilgrimage. For the Encounter with nature we used as a symbol a Bottle that will serve to contain the water that will quench the pilgrim's thirst. The Encounter with oneself was symbolised by a Stuff, which helped us to walk and the Encounter with God was represented by the Cross, symbol of God's love for all men.

The meeting began with words of welcome from the World Chaplain. The theme of the Pilgrimage was also explained and a dynamic was carried out where each delegation presented itself through a song or a dance.

Then the Pedagogy of the CICG was explained and the base groups were formed with which they would work during the whole event.

The day ended with the celebration of Holy Mass and an activity for the members of the base groups to get to know each other.

The next day, after the celebration of the Holy Mass, we left for the Medina of Sale where we could discover the customs and traditions of the place with the help of historian. We also played a game in base groups. After lunch on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, we visited two important monuments of Rabat: the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V and strolled through the Rabat Market.

On the way back we had a talk with Father Oscar, Director of Caritas about the solidarity work with refugees and the needy. The day ended with a meditation and artistic expression.

The following day, different workshops were held on: Christians´s responsibility for the climate: “Laudato sí”; Empowering young Catholic women leaders; Tenology and faith: Influencers of God. After dinner, we shared an international evening where we learned about the food and customs of the countries from which the participants came.

The day of the Desert arrived and we participated in the Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Rabat with the community and then we went to the Botanical Garden to meditate and share our thoughts, feelings and reflections. On our return there was a workshop on ‘Changes in faith’ and on the ‘Role of the Catholic leader’. In the evening we had a farewell party.

We arrived at the last day of the Pilgrimage beginning with the celebration of the Mass of sending forth where the symbol of the cross was handed over and inviting the young women to offer hope in the world united to Jesus.

Before leaving we had the evaluation time by base group and staff and then the closing ceremony.

We would especially like to thank Najat Bou Nader Dawlabany, coordinator of the CICG Committee of the Lebanese Girl Guides Association, who accompanied us throughout the meeting and shared her knowledge of leadership with the young women. Thank you Najat!

This event reinforced how important it is for young women to be involved in CICG actions. We learned a lot from them about their needs and their commitment.