THE METROPOLITAN ARCHDIOCESE OF ADDIS ABABA: Youth Ministry

Introduction and Background

The Archeparchy of Addis Ababa is part of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia, was established by the Apostolic constitution “Quod Venerabilies’ on February 20th, 1961 in place of the Apostolic Exarchate which had been erected on October 31^st 1951. It covers an extensive geographical area in central Ethiopia. The seat of the Archeparchy is the capital Addis Ababa, which is the centre of diplomatic and financial activity, it also comprises widespread rural areas. The Archdiocesan Catholic Secretariat (ACS) established in April 1992 has two coordinating offices; Pastoral Coordinating Office of Addis Ababa (PACO) and Social and Development Coordinating Office (SDCO).

Under the Pastoral Coordination we have, the youth ministry, which emphasizes on the nurturing of all the aspects of youth life. Youth ministry is therefore the work of, for and with the young people in all possible ways for their integral growth. The main intention is to bring the Youth to grow towards its own personal development, as a human person, member of a community, with Christ being as its centre.

The Archdiocese recently launched under the motto “Journeying Together in Christ” and encouraged reflection and self-examination engaging with major themes including: the Church’s Structure and Nature, Liturgy and Sacramental life, Catechism and Evangelization, Youth Ministry, the Formation of Clergy and Laity, Ecclesial Movements and Associations, Catholic Education, Community Social Services and Development, Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue, Justice and Peace, Social Communication and Mass Media, Capacity Building etc.

The Vision and Mission of the Addis Ababa Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Office

Catholic Youth Ministry should respond to the needs of Young people and encourage the sharing of their unique gifts with the larger community. Looking at the historical background of young people in the Archdiocese of Johannesburg, we realize that the youth lack the capacity to become fully human.

Following the Youth Synod 2008, the Archdiocese of Johannesburg seeks to promote the holistic development of young people in Christ. This development includes five pillars of growth, namely: physical, emotional, intellectual, socio-political and spiritual.

1. Physical: health, work, sport, hygiene, environment, appearances
2. Emotional/psychological: acceptance, human sexuality, self-esteem, integration of emotions
3. Intellectual: sound knowledge, critical thinking, culture of education
4. Socio-political: sense of belonging, responsibility for community, patriot, cultural values, awareness of justice,
5. Spiritual: healing hearts, minds and spirits, restoration of hope

We can achieve this by motivating our young people to interact and to be at home with each other.
Adults should play an accompanying role by being present among them, listening to them and contributing to their holistic development.

Mission in the making

There is a need for an Archdiocesan Youth Department to co- ordinate, network and draw on the experience of the deanery structures and other youth bodies, and to put this information at the service of the youth in the Archdiocese of Johannesburg. A need for an archdiocesan youth structure that is functional and dynamic is recognised.

Youth spirituality will allow the youth a spiritual space where they can explore and experiment. They need a certain amount of freedom and openness in order to grow into a more mature faith integrating modern-day youth culture into essential liturgical acts and the gospel teaching.

Youth Evangelization as Holistic Youth Development: Evangelization for the new millennium would include a holistic integration of the institutional, social and spiritual dimensions of development.

Institutional development would include the Church promoting groups which encourage a positive self-image and outlook for young people. At the same time the Church needs to strengthen existing groups at the parish, tertiary, deanery and archdiocesan levels. Above all the Archdiocese needs to consider youth as priority within the local Church especially with regard to resources.

Social development promoted as ‘holistic development’ would include: ‘personal formation’ dealing with life skills, ‘happy togetherness’ programmes and ‘community awareness’ raising human rights issues, HIV/AIDS, sexuality and substance abuse. The issue of peer-to peer ministry development especially in light of a multi-cultural society should be encouraged.

Spiritual development would start from the young person’s perspective including attempts to address the hunger for meaning. This is the most essential development level for the young as it involves the beginnings of their life-long journey with their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Adult supporters, parish priests, religious and chaplains should encourage a reflective prayerful life integrated with study of the Word, Christian fellowship and service, and all the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The youth must be taught that Life and the Faith are interdependent.

The activities we had planned, as per the description previously sent in the project request, were identified at that time as the best mechanisms to answer the different needs of the youth. The chaplains are still discovering the culture and mentality of the youth ministry in Ethiopia and are also seeking to cooperate well with the local Church, especially the parish priest. Due to these reasons, a number of adjustments had to be made along the year to the original project request in order to address properly the needs of the youth on the ground level.

This report intends to show you in detail these changes with as much transparency as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience and ensure you of our good will for a deep cooperation centred on the pastoral involvement in responding to the needs of the youth in our Archdiocese.

The situation of the Youth Ministry:

The situation of the Youth Ministry is to be considered in two major areas: the city of Addis Ababa on one hand, and the rural area (namely, the entire Archdiocese, excluding the city of Addis Ababa). In the city, the Pastoral activities led by the office are mainly enacted through the youth leader committee. This includes organizing events that gather all the youth of the city, such as concerts, festivals, trainings, youth seminars, retreats, etc. The office is also bringing support to the parish youth associations when required.

In the rural area, the office activities are essentially connected to the parish youth associations. By visiting them, teaching them, and bringing them support, we try to address the needs of each, which tend to differ from one group to another.

Since 2007, Eagle Eye Summer Camps have served an average of 120 young ethiopian people each year, aged 16 to 35. We are committed to raising up Saints to lead, and have enabled these young people to explore profound questions, discovery joy, forge lasting friendships with other young Catholics, and most importantly, deepen their Catholic Faith. Our formation is broken down into three categories: Intellectual & Cultural, Spiritual and Human Formation.

Other missions

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Through their Schools of Life, the Brothers of Saint John offer young people an opportunity to face this question which is always present in their hearts: “To what am I called?”

Taking time to deepen their human and Christian life is the choice made each year by young people aged 18 to 25 when they enter one of the Schools of Life run by the Brothers.

Through formation, prayer, fraternal life and mission, the School of Life offers an experience that helps all young people to build themselves humanly and in Christianity, whatever their choice of life afterwards.

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If you are interested to participate the next School of Life, please contact the brother in charge

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