POPE

Young communicators meet in Rome on the eve of the Synod

Brazil, Nigeria, and Vietnam are just a few of the countries of origin of participants in the third edition of the training programme "Faith Communication in the Digital World", organized by the Dicastery for Communication. On Saturday evening, the young women and men have come to St. Peter's Square to take part in the pre-synodal Ecumenical Prayer Vigil #Together2023.

By Sebastian Samson Ferrari

Leticia Araujo, from Brazil, is the communication assistant of the Laudato Si' Movement and is participating in the third edition of the training programme of the Dicastery for Communication “Faith Communication in the Digital World: A synodal perspective”. She arrived in Rome from South America in the last week of September to meet other young communicators from different parts of the world. This initiative aims to promote best practices in spiritual formation and to spread inspiration to find new and effective ways of proclaiming the Gospel in virtual arenas.

The Roman sojourn

After several months of online sessions, together with some 16 young men and women working in various fields of communication, they experienced many activities in the Italian capital: they visited the four Papal Basilicas, the headquarters of Vatican Radio - Vatican News, and the Vatican Museums; and greeted Pope Francis at the end of the general audience on Wednesday, 27 September. Leticia was very excited to get in touch with creative colleagues from different regions of the world, many from Asia. “Being able to learn from each other,” she explains, “is very special for me”.

Leticia Araujo

An exchange between different cultures

The main lesson she brings back home are the different ways of communicating for a greater purpose, which can be acquired through relationships with other cultures. Leticia also emphasises the need to always keep in mind the point of departure, the grassroots community. After her stay in Italy, she will spend some more time in Europe and share her knowledge with the faith communities and religious congregations that have influenced her journey.

Participating in the Vigil

For Tâm Bùi, a volunteer at the Press Office of the Archdiocese of Saigon in Vietnam, this opportunity was extremely enriching and he is eager to exchange information on communication, liturgy, youth, and other topics to strengthen mutual understanding.

He is also very happy to be able to participate with the group in the Ecumenical Prayer Vigil ‘Together 2023’ to entrust to the Holy Spirit the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The Vigil is being held this Saturday evening, 30 September, in St. Peter's Square. In fact, he shares that he has also organised a similar activity in his ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

For Emmanuel Donatus, a Nigerian freelance journalist, the experience was extraordinary, and stimulating, and allowed him to review several concepts, including, for example, the importance of enhanced listening in one's daily work and the urgency of always transmitting the Truth.