The countdown is on with less than 150 days until doors open on the fourth Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2019 (ACYF19) to be held in Perth, 8 to 10 December.
With an anticipated 5,000 young people taking part in ACYF19, groups from every Australian state and territory have begun registering and preparing for an incredible and unique encounter of the Church in Australia.
Group Coordinators who have not yet registered are urged to do so as Group Registration will close in just two months on September 12.
Festival Director Malcolm Hart, said he was encouraged by the variety of groups registering for ACYF19 and the planning undertaken for the largest and most diverse national catholic event.
“The Festival is a celebration of young people and the Church as one body. It will be a living embodiment of Pope Francis’ post synod exhortation, Christus Vivit, where church leaders and young people will come together to share experiences, challenges and joys of life. In a special way the Festival will explore the Plenary Council themes as part of the national journey we are on together.”
“Group leaders and young people should register as soon as possible to ensure they have all their details in order before the close of group registrations on 12 September,” Malcolm Hart said.
The festival promises to be an exciting and powerful event for youth aged Year 9 to 30. The Festival Group Registration process can be completed by the Group Coordinator online at www.acyf.org.au. Participants 18 years or older can register as individuals or as part of a local group. All participants aged under 18 years of age must register as part of a group.
As the Festival draws ever closer the organising committee continue to work hard to ensure this will be a rich experience in which young Australian Catholics can deepen their faith on fertile local soil. This year’s Festival will have a particular focus on the Church in Western Australia, indigenous young people and those with varying abilities.
The three-day event is an initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, hosted in partnership with the Archdiocese of Perth. The official theme of the Festival is ‘Listen to what the Spirit is Saying’, and will highlight the work of the Plenary Council 2020.
The 2019 Festival will be held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC), centrally located to the CBD and public transport, with the final Mass set to take place on the oval of Trinity College.
For more information about the Festival, go to www.acyf.org.au or contact Malcolm Hart, Director ACBC Office for Youth: director.youth@catholic.org.au