The parish has a number of initiatives happening locally as well as connections with diocesan events. You can read about them all below.
World Youth Day
Over the years, Kilnamanagh-Castleview has had a tradition of someone from the parish connected with each of the World Youth Day events. The last gathering took place in Krakow, Poland in July 2016 and parish catechist, Natalie, was there. She was part of the Dublin Diocese group that saw over 300 young adults aged 16 and up attend the week long gathering. The week is one big festival that includes concerts of all sorts of music, talks, food festivals, opportunities for discussion, as well as catechesis every morning with prayer. The week was opened by the local Archbishop at the opening Mass and saw Pope Francis arrive on the Friday for the concluding events to the week. Saturday was the walk to the vigil site where almost 2million people held a vigil with Pope Francis and camped out together in preparation for the closing Mass on the Sunday with Pope Francis.
The next World Youth Day will take place in Panama City in January 2019 and we’re hoping to continue our Kilnamanagh-Castleview connection with sending and supporting some parishioners to attend the gathering.
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Foundational Leadership Programme
The Foundational Leadership Programme is in its 3rd year, and is an initiative of the Office of Evangelisation and Ecumenism in the Dublin Diocese. It is a 6 month programme that see young adults (ages 18-35 years) come together and explore Christian leadership and it’s possibilities for them in their life and ministry. The programme runs once a month and takes place in St Paul’s Church in Arran Quay. A number of guest speakers give seminars each month on a particular Christ-centred topic such as social justice, the person of Jesus, the Bible, practical leadership skills, as well as looking at self-care in leadership and spiritual direction. The participants are divided into peer groups and are asked to meet once a month in their group to work through their textbook. For the year 2017/2018 the chosen text book was DoCat from the YouCat series.
The 2017/2018 group of the programme saw a strong Kilnamanagh-Castleview presence. Catechist, Natalie, was a facilitator on the course, and parishioner, Kevin, signed up to be a participant on the course. The 6 months (October to March) was brought to an official close in April with a final treat day and graduation Mass. The retreat was given by our very own Fr Michael, along with Natalie in support role. It was a great experience for all involved and the next round of FLP applications will be coming out soon to begin in October 2018. We look forward to having Kevin become more actively involved in the life of the parish in the coming months.
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Camino de Santiago
2017 saw our latest pilgrimage in the parish with young adults walking the Camino de Santiago. The group was made up of 10 from Kilnamanagh-Castleview and 30 from the Diocese of Elphin. The group began meeting in February to complete some practice walks and continued walking throughout the months in preparation. A great bond was formed among the participants, so when it came to take flight to Santiago, the excitement level of all was through the roof!
The group were gone for 10 days and walked the 120km stretch from Sarria to Santiago. There was a day trip to Finisterre, also known as the end of the world, where the trail ends as it meets the Atlantic ocean. Although the word ‘blister’ entered our vocabulary more than we would have liked it to, a superb trip was has by all. The Kilnamagh-Castleview group have continued to meet for walks, time of prayer/sharing and social gatherings together. The group is always looking for new members!
For more information on any of the above, please get in contact with the Parish here.
