The Vác Diocese is divided to seven territorial unit (region). Currently, six regional youth community operates among the Diocese: Ipoly menti, Galga, North-Danube, South-Danube, Tisza, Zagyva Youth Community.
The operation of the regions
The committed volunteers of the Youth Chaplaincy’s regions, that is the Lesser Brothers serve the youth and parish communities of their regions with a specific diocesan spirituality. At the annual meetings organized by them there’re some 50-150 young participants from 10-15 different settlements, and the majority of them are returning ones. Annually we could organise programs in 35 settlements of the Diocese. The intimate participation rate and the regularity of the events creates the community sense of belonging together. The regions provide a community network accessible for every young person of the diocese. The regional meetings are not top-down organized programs, but events of communities applying a bottom-up approach.
Beside the youth pastor, the Youth Office helps to coordinate the work of the Youth Chaplaincy’s regions.
Spirituality of the regions
The special spirituality of the regions belonging to the Chaplaincy has evolved in decades. The responsible leaders of the regions – together with the youth pastor – defined the basic pillars of their spirituality and operation in a document approved by Father Bishop Dr Miklós Beer on 15 November 2014. In accordance with that the regions belonging to the Chaplaincy are established and acknowledged as a special official diocesan spirituality.This diocesan spirituality and the regional communities are destined to serve the diocesan mission of the pastor. The contribute in achieving that the young people attending the Mente meetings could become engines or even initiators of their communities when returning to their own parishes. At the same time the youth pastor and the Lesser Brothers have mission for a special diocesan, or in other words “Mente” related spirituality. It means that they don’t complete the Mente Mission with a high hand, but in accordance with the spriritual and operational principles and in unity with the regional pastors, the local priests, the youth and the catechets.
Our spirituality rests on four basic pillars: we want to become a
- eucharistic,
- Marian community
- searching for the kingdom of God
- paying attention to the Holy Spirit.
We could speak about a diocesan spirituality:
- The regions don’t constitute a spiritual movement as they don’t form an organization separate from the system of parishes, and furthermore, because they were given a mission for a predefined area.
- But they don’t simply represent a diocesan organization either, because they have their own spirituality.
The regions identify themselves as the work, the creation of Mary. It’s a central feature of the Marian diocesan spirituality that it’s inclusive.
Prayer of the regions:
“Dear Mother, Please look at your children, who pray to you. Be with us in our everyday struggles. Help us to accept and faithfully accomplish the duties entrusted to us by your Son. Help us to set example with our lives for others who do not know the love of your Son yet. Be the patron of our regions. “
Our results:
- Annually ca. 1000 youth – half of them regularly – participate at the regional meeting and summer camps.
- By training of local volunteers they further the birth of youth communities at the parishes and facilitate that the communion, i.e. community sharing among the parishes could become a huge diocese-wide unity alongside the Mente initiative.
Our youth communities among the Deocese are connected to each other. The regions provide a community network accessible for every young person of the diocese.
You can find the related episode of our „About us” serie here.