Youth Ministry

Karnataka Jesuit Youth Ministry

To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future

INSPIRATION

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” — St. Teresa of Calcutta

A BRIEF HISTORY

The basic thrust of our youth work has been to accompany young people—both Christian and non-Christian, organized and unorganized—in the process of making the right choices. This is done by helping them understand, analyze, and respond to existing realities through discernment, while sharing Gospel values in a meaningful way.

Youth apostolate has existed from the very beginning of our Province. Jesuits have actively guided young people in both educational and social sectors through various associations such as CLC, AICUF, and other youth groups like MAGIS, Youth for Democracy, NECCB, NETSF, Yuva, Ignitors, and others.

Youth ministry took a definitive turn in 2009, when the Province appointed Fr. Brian Pereira SJ as the full-time Youth Coordinator, with a fully functioning Youth Centre in Bengaluru. From then on, youth work has grown by leaps and bounds. Presently, youth ministry in the Province is coordinated by the PCYM (Province Commission for Youth Ministry).

At present, Fr. Merwyn Loyd Fernandes SJ serves as the Province Youth Director. He is assisted by Fr. Anthony Derick SJ and Fr. Dheeraj D’Souza SJ, who are in charge of youth work in Mangaluru and North Karnataka respectively, and by Fr. Chin Kap Sian Muang SJ, who oversees the North East Ministry under Youth Works. Together, they accompany organized youth in various colleges within their respective zones.

A special intervention to reach both organized and unorganized youth in North Karnataka was initiated with the establishment of a Youth Centre at Vidya Niketan, Dharwad, in 2015, with Fr. Pratap Chandru SJ as its first Director. Currently, this responsibility is shouldered by Fr. Dheeraj D’Souza SJ. Through these efforts, we have been able to reach thousands of young people, conscientising and empowering them to lead value-based lives.

At present, all these initiatives come under KJES (Karnataka Jesuit Educational Society) – Youth Works.

TARGET GROUPS

The target groups of our youth ministry include:

·         Catholic and Christian youth

·         Non-Christian youth of our colleges and institutions

·         Unorganized youth of our mission stations, especially those from the slums and villages of North Karnataka

Our aim is the integral formation of youth through various activities and programmes, with sustained accompaniment and follow-up.

GENERAL AIMS

·         To coordinate youth work in the Province, both in rural and urban sectors, in collaboration with spiritual and pastoral caregivers, NGOs, citizens’ initiative movements, journalists, and others.

·         To assist Principals and DOWs in offering integral formation programmes (“head, heart, and hands”) for students in our institutions.

·         To form committed youth leaders, especially among unorganized youth.

·         To organize ongoing training programmes in youth ministry for youth animators, campus ministers, and social workers.

·         To train “barefoot lawyers” and “barefoot nurses” to serve in rural areas.

·         To coordinate regular outreach programmes for urban youth in rural areas and slums.

ACCOMPANYING CATHOLIC AND NON-CATHOLIC YOUTH IN INSTITUTIONS

AICUF (All India Catholic University Federation) is very active in our Province. Through regular spiritual and social programmes, young people are helped to grow as youth of God and youth for others.

‘MAGIS’, a youth convention, has been organized for the past eight years at both Province and Assistancy levels, in line with World Youth Day. We are happy to note that MAGIS has now become an Ignatian Youth Movement in South Asia.

A strong emphasis is placed on the social dimension of youth formation. Catholic and non-Catholic youth from our institutions are encouraged to reach out to unorganized youth in slums and villages. They conduct programmes on education, hygiene, career guidance, and other relevant social issues.

Through NECCB (North Eastern Catholic Community, Bengaluru), we provide spiritual and pastoral accompaniment to tribal and migrant youth from the North Eastern region of India living in Bengaluru. We also collaborate with diocesan youth coordinators, particularly in North Karnataka, to reach out to parish youth.

ACCOMPANYING COLLEGE YOUTH

At the beginning of every academic year, orientation programmes are conducted for students in our educational institutions. Special formation programmes such as IGNITORS and YUVA are organized for both Christian and non-Christian youth.

IGNITORS focuses on value orientation and self-awareness among college students. YUVA (Youth United for Values and Attitudes) is an interfaith programme that inculcates values and attitudes necessary for harmonious living. These holistic programmes address various issues related to youth growth and development.

ACCOMPANYING THE UNORGANIZED YOUTH

Unorganized youth are guided through a process of awareness about their rights and duties as responsible citizens. Youth clubs are formed in villages and slums of our mission stations to help them collectively assert their rights.

Many of these young people are unemployed or engaged in unskilled labor. We support them through skill development and technical education programmes. The twinning programme between city institutions and mission stations has been particularly successful, exposing urban students to realities such as poverty, unemployment, drought, and farmers’ struggles.

We also train staff members of high schools and colleges in youth accompaniment, enabling wider outreach through collaboration and networking. Trained counselors are engaged to support youth in crisis. In collaboration with like-minded NGOs, we organize issue-based awareness programmes.

CONTEXT AND VISION

The present socio-political scenario in our country is alarming. Young people are increasingly vulnerable to divisive ideologies based on religion, caste, and language. Growing fundamentalism and communalism target minorities and Dalits, while hate speech undermines constitutional values such as secularism and socialism. False narratives, distorted histories, and fascist ideologies threaten the minds and futures of young people.

In this context, we rejoice that the Society of Jesus has identified Accompanying Youth as a Universal Apostolic Preference, which our Province has also adopted as a key priority. Our vision is to create a hope-filled future by forming young people rooted in constitutional values, true patriotism, and authentic nationalism, as responsible citizens of India.

All these youth initiatives are presently placed under KJES (Karnataka Jesuit Educational Society) – Youth Works.