Youth bound for Quebec warm-up

Travelling ark to collect people's prayers

Andrew Papenbrock

By BILL GLEN
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Cardinal Marc Ouellet's effort to prepare Canada for the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress is drawing three archdiocesan youth to Quebec City next month.

On May 19-22, Quebec City will host the 2006 Youth Summit, preparing the nation's young adults spiritually for the Eucharistic Congress in June 2008.

About 300 delegates, aged 18 to 35 years, are expected to attend the gathering to deepen their faith while meeting other young adults who live the Eucharist at the centre of their lives.

"Cardinal Ouellet wants to bring, in particular, young adults from every diocese in Canada together ahead of time because he hopes they will play an important part in the Eucharistic Congress," said Andrew Papenbrock, youth and young adult ministry coordinator for the archdiocese.

"He is responding to the needs of young people to centre their faith."

Roger Rouleau and Heather Jamieson have been tapped by the archdiocese to attend the summit, where they will participate in several liturgical workshops and group discussions, including a talk by Ouellet on Eucharistic Adoration.

Kathy Wegewitz will attend on behalf of St. Joseph Basilica. She entered the Catholic faith just two years ago.

Using the theme Here I Am, delegates will join in the ordination to the priesthood of a young Dominican brother.

"Archbishop (Thomas) Collins knows there are so many youth and young adults in the archdiocese where adoration is a part of their lives," Papenbrock said. "They are centred on the Eucharist. This is an opportunity for them to celebrate in a unique way."

The youth summit will coincide with the arrival of the Ark of the New Covenant from Rome. Pope Benedict XVI will bless the ark on May 11-12 when the Quebec bishops make their ad limina visits to the Vatican.

The ark, in the form of a ship, is a chest covered with iconic images related to the Eucharist.

A draft itinerary has been proposed for the ark to tour Canada. The itinerary will be refined based on requests received from different dioceses. As it travels across Canada, people will be able to deposit written prayers and reflections inside a box.

The pilgrimage will begin in Quebec following the youth summit and in January 2007, it will set out across the country. Western Canada has been tentatively pencilled in sometime between May and August 2007.

The pilgrimage will return to Quebec City in time for the International Eucharistic Congress, where some 20,000 are expected to gather.

Rouleau was chosen because he is a seminarian, bilingual and worked at the national office in Toronto during World Youth Day 2002. He will speak to the francophone community in the archdiocese when he returns from the summit.

A gifted public speaker, Jamieson has assisted the archdiocese in several programs, including the inaugural Theology on Tap. She is an active member of the basilica parish.

"Following the youth summit, we will come back to our own parishes to prepare people for the Eucharistic Congress," said Rouleau, 29, a fourth year student at St. Joseph's Seminary.

Jamieson, 33, works in recreational therapy under the Capital Health umbrella. She attended World Youth Day in Toronto and Germany.

"It was great to experience the numbers and magnitude of Catholics around the world," she said. "I hope that with the information we bring back with us, as a group we go forth. It's very exciting. It is always nice to partake in something."

When Rouleau and Jamieson return from the summit, they will tell the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council of their experiences during the summit and how to make a formal application to have the ark come to Edmonton.

Papenbrock anticipates the ark will make its way through the archdiocese.

"We are taking this on as a whole diocese," he said.

"We are hoping to get numerous representatives from the parishes involved with the pilgrimage and to support the Eucharistic Congress. Maybe we can reach out to the youth and young adults who can make it to Quebec but who can't make the long journey to Sydney (World Youth Day 2008)."

The International Eucharistic Congress will be held June 15-22, 2008. The congress website is at www.cei2008.ca.

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