With just two weeks until the start of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney, the Australian Catholic Bishops Office for Youth has launched the official song for the event, a lively anthem called ‘Joyful Generation’. Image: Supplied.
With a little more a week until the start of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney, the Australian Catholic Bishops Office for Youth has launched the official song for the event, a lively anthem called Joyful Generation.
The song was written by Tim Hart – of Wollongong Diocese in New South Wales – who was chosen among applicants across the country, who were challenged to capture the ACYF theme ‘Open New Horizons for Spreading Joy’ in their compositions.
Mr Hart, a singer-songwriter, primary school teacher, music minister, husband and dad, took his inspiration from his experience as a pilgrim at World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland.
“Trying to capture the essence of Christian joy, I kept coming back to Pope Francis’ message. These words made us feel like we were deeply loved,” he explained.
“The lyrics explore this idea in connection to the risen Christ who is merciful and whose salvation lifts our spirits, and gives us reason to be joyful people.”
He said Joyful Generation had been produced with help from a number of people, including coordinator of the development process Simon Hyland, whom he thanked for his support.
“It has been awesome working with Simon, who has great musical talent. He has been so encouraging and supportive throughout the process and helped guide the song into the ‘upbeat, can’t-help-but-get-on-your-feet-and-shout-it-out’ vibe,” Mr Hart said.
The three-day festival will be held at Sydney’s Olympic Park from 7-9 December, and feature music, workshops, forums and worship, with a stellar line-up of international and home-grown presenters and performers.
The Festival will conclude with Mass in The Domain at 6.30pm on Saturday 9 December.
With tens of thousands of Catholics expected to attend, it will be Sydney’s largest Catholic Mass since World Youth Day (WYD) in 2008.
Registration for the event is open to those over the age of 18, and can be completed by visiting: www.acyf.org.au.