On the threshold of the pre-Synodal meeting that will be held in Rome from 19th to 24th of March when young people from all over the world will be gathered to give their contribution to the next Synod of bishops, in the Basilica of st Mary Major (Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore) young people are gathered to pray and to listen to spiritual formation in order to prepare themselves to be active contributors of the Synod 2018 and in preparation for the next World Youth Day.
In the last months, they have listened to Moysés Azevedo, founder and general moderator of Shalom Catholic Community, cardinal Rylko, retired president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and currently archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major and Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops. This month the preacher is fr. Joao Chagas, shalom catholic missionary priest WHO serves as director of the youth section of the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. He has been working on the organization of the World Youth Days (WYD) for several years.
Among the young participants of this vigil prayer there will also be Barbara Tavares, a young member of the community who is currently serving as a volunteer for WYD in Panama and has been invited to participate in the pre-Synodal meeting as a representative of the youth of the Shalom Community.