Forming Youth as a Generation of Hope

by | Jul 22, 2025 | News Archives

Viatorians led the fourth annual Encuentro Juvenil Viatoriano (Viatorian Youth Meeting) last week at Universidad Santo Tomás in Tunja, with the theme “Generation Hope: Young People Who Transform.”

This program started in 2022, when Br. John Alexander Avellaneda, CSV and Fr. Juan Carlos Ubaque, CSV (then, a brother) created it to give students from the Tunja area an intentional experience for faith formation and reflection. Now as a priest and as vocation director, Fr. Juan Carlos remains involved, collaborating with pastoral staff from our Viatorian school Colegio San Viator, the university, and ten religious communities who minister in the area. Over 500 students attended this year’s event, including students from Colegio San Viator in Tunja and 11 other schools around Boyacá.

The principal speaker was Fr. Juan Jaime Escobar. He’s a priest well-known in Colombia for preaching that shares sincere messages of hope, which Fr. Juan Carlos considered a great fit for these young people. “This kind of experience gives our young people good space for reflection. In this setting, it becomes possible to reflect on the challenges in life for our young people,” Fr. Juan Carlos said.

Aura Lilia Vargas, pastoral coordinator for Colegio San Viator, describes preparing this ministry as tiring but deeply fulfilling. “We have to give ourselves the chance to be with them, believe in them, touch their hearts, and try to listen – to their different creative melodies, new ideas, and talents,” Ms. Vargas said. “We believe the seeds we have sown through this experience will grow in each school, family, and community. When young people meet, listen to each other, and feel accompanied, then hope flourishes.”

To conclude the day, Fr. Juan Carlos exposed the Blessed Sacrament, so the whole group could pray together in Eucharistic Adoration, and then offered them Benediction. “This youth meeting and its success is a sign that helps us to see the vitality of the Viatorian charism and the challenge that we face every day, to continue announcing Christ and his Gospel,” Fr. Juan Carlos said.

CLICK HERE: Para leer en Español el reflexión de P. Juan Carlos Ubaque csv y Coordinadora de Pastoral del Colegio San Viator de Tunja Aura Lilia Vargas.