Midlands monastery set to host more than 1,000 Catholic youth

Over a thousand young people are expected to attend a Catholic youth festival in Roscrea later this month, conference organisers say.

The summer festival at Cistercian College will be a weekend of faith, fun and friendship, according to Youth 2000’s Brian O’Driscoll, who told The Irish Catholic: “The weekend offers a fantastic weekend of faith and formation, a chance to step away from the craziness of our busy lives in order to embrace our faith and meet new people.”

Youth 2000, which has been active in Ireland since 1993, runs prayer groups, retreats and youth festivals for young people aged between 16 and 35. Although exact numbers attending the August 17-20 event are unlikely to be known until the “last minute”, Mr O’Driscoll says organisers anticipate that more than 1200 Catholics will attend. “All of our retreats throughout the year are steadily growing in numbers,” he said.

Variety

The weekend has a variety of religious and social activities taking place over the four days including Mass, talks, music from live bands, workshops, drama, football and games, Mr O’Driscoll explained, adding, “it’s a chance to meet new people and find out what it means to be young and Catholic today – there’s something for everyone”.

To find out more information about Youth2000, and how to register for the upcoming summer festival, see http://youth2000.ie/