After this WYD, I feel duly sent back to the mission
World Youth Day was a great opportunity for me to renew, within the Shalom charism, the primacy of young people in our vocation. It was my first journey, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited about what God was going to give me. I was surprised as soon as I arrived in Lisbon, the whole city was focused on the event, the public transport systems wished the pilgrims welcome on their signs, everything revolved around this meeting. At the opening Mass, there was a crowd of young people, all different flags and all with the same spirit. I was able to get to know young people from the most diverse nationalities. Even though I didn’t speak other ...

From addictions to alcohol and drugs to a new life in the Spirit
A testimony of Adam St Laurent I grew up in a broken home. There was no faith in my life. I didn’t even know a person that went to church. I had an absent alcoholic father and mother that worked 2 jobs. I remember being 9 and telling my friends what my father was going to do for me when I turned 10, but he never showed up. I was looking for love and found none. “Something must be wrong with me” I found myself alone and scared with no one to help guide me in life. I turned to drugs and alcohol at the age of 11 to numb the pain of being alone. I started to surround myself ...

From the suffering of war to a new life in Christ
My name is Brendan McNally. I am an artist, a language teacher, a war veteran, and a father to a beautiful 8 year old daughter. So that sounds like a lot of things, and it is. I have been many things in my life, but most importantly for this testimony tonight, I am a recent revert back to the Catholic faith.  To give a bit of background on my faith journey, I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school until the age of 10. It’s truly unfortunate that I left the faith at such a young age, which is of course a long story on its own, but it’s a story for another time. Tonight, I’m going to focus on ...

From the anxieties of the world to peace in God
A testimony of Bruna Bloise Before my experience with God I was feeling lost, I couldn’t find true peace, it was very fleeting. I had a very great desire to get closer to God, to understand Him more, and even to understand more about the Church, but felt like a lost mission and I didn’t know where to start. I began to pray more and I believe that the Holy Spirit guided me to Shalom. There, I went to the retreat during Lent in 2022 and had a profound experience with God. I left the retreat with a happy heart, in such great peace and I went back to my day-to-day life and Jesus began to inspire movements within me ...