Introduction

Youth Chaplaincy of the Vác Diocese

Mente Mission

The establishment of the Youth Chaplaincy

The Youth Chaplaincy of the Vác Diocese is a unique formation in Hungary. It is owing to the Bishop of the diocese, Dr Miklós Beer, who in 2007 had the idea to establish a separate status, namely that of the youth pastor, whose duty would be to gather up and create a loving community of young people in the age of 12-30 living in the territory of the Vác Diocese. And by having done this, he practically promoted the regional youth Virgin Mary Communities that already existed at several locations even that time to the rank of a diocese, and the youth pastor was entrusted with the co-ordination of these regional communities.

You can find the related episode of our „About us” series here.

A mission of the Youth Chaplaincy

The volunteers and employees of the Youth Chaplaincy help the youth pastor on his mission. But what is his mandate exactly?

The mandate of the Youth Pastor:

• the pastoral care of the youth (ages 12-30) belonging to the territory of the diocese;
• helping and completing the work of the parish priests and serving the communio between the parishes;
• bringing together the youth pastoral endeavors which operate in the territory of the diocese;
• at regional level creating youth communities, who organize interim meetings and summer camps for the youth of the certain region;
• at national level: representing the diocese.

Definitions:

• Youth Chaplaincy of the Vác Diocese

The Youth Chaplaincy conducts a special youth mission, which covers the entire territory of the Vác Diocese. This mission is led by the youth pastor and serves the youth pastoral work of the Vác Diocese. Under Youth Chaplaincy we mean altogether the volunteers and paid colleagues, our activities, events, the material and intellectual contents, communities (for example regional communities).

• Mente Mission

The mission and activity of the Youth Chaplaincy of the Vác Diocese, which is a mission origins from the mandate of the youth pastor and accordingly the mission which origins from the service of the regions and parishes.

The aim of the Youth Chaplaincy of the Vác Diocese

The aim of the Youth Ministry is to have a youth community in each and every parish, which:

• tries to become Christian
• tries to join other communities
• is responsible for not only itselves, but tries to behave accordingly in the Church and the society as well
• becomes able to exist without external help.

All of our activities serve directly or indirectly these aims.

The spirituality of the Mente Mission

In the diocese we don’t simply want to organize the youth; we also want them to belong to a special diocesan spirituality, meaning that it’s a Marian one. And the quintessence of this diocesan Marian spirituality is that just like Mary, a mother who admits her children, we also want to embrace the youth living in these regions, showing to them that there’s place here for everyone. Even those who have no community at their own parishes. This isn’t spirituality in the sense of a spiritual movement, as the diocese isn’t committed to any spiritual movement; the very essence of our spirituality is that we can channel the values of every movement into the life of the regions and the young people from the parishes bring along their inner treasures so that these inner treasures could get involved into the circulation of presents.

You can find the related episode of our „About us” series here.