The Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) is a national gathering of Catholic young people established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). It exists to provide young people with opportunities to deepen their relationship with Jesus, be empowered to be disciples in the world today and encounter and celebrate the vitality of the Church in Australia.
The Archdiocese of Sydney is hosting the event from December 7th-9th 2017 on behalf of the ACBC. The Festival receives collaborative support from the agencies of the Archdiocese, and greater Sydney dioceses of Broken Bay, Parramatta and Wollongong.
In December 2017 the Festival will launch the Year of Youth, celebrating ten years on from hosting World Youth Day 2008.
Purpose
The Australian Catholic Youth Festival exists to:
- Provide a high quality formative and experiential opportunity for young Catholics to encounter Jesus Christ, in the context of the Catholic Church in Australia;
- Listen to and discuss the issues and challenges in the lives of young Catholics in Australia;
- Evangelise young people and empower them to be evangelisers;
- Provide young people with local examples and connections of vocations, social action, liturgy and prayer, catholic music and catechesis.
The 2017 Festival will be held on Thursday, December 7th, concluding on Saturday, December 9th.
Venue
The 2017 Festival will be held at Sydney Olympic Park with venues including Sydney Show Grounds and Qudos Bank
Arena.
The closing mass of the Festival will take place in The Domain.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, have made arrangements with The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to secure the harbour-side venue. The Mass in the Domain will be an open event for families and others to join in and a highlight to the closing of the Festival.
For further details go to the ACYF website: http://youthfestival.catholic.org.au/