Westminster Youth Ministry engages with the children and young people of the diocese in a variety of ways, and through various channels. Its services to the youth of the diocese, their schools and parishes are offered through two main streams: day and residential retreats for school and parish groups at the Youth Retreat Centre in Pinner, and outreach activities which involve going into parishes and deaneries and organising big events, such as Flame, Summit, and Resonate.
After the lull during the pandemic and repeated lockdowns, and the slow start in 2022, the retreat centre had its busiest year yet in 2023. There is high demand from schools and youth groups for residential retreats, and from Confirmation groups for day retreats. The centre was fully booked for most of the year, hosting more than 85 day retreats and 57 residential retreats, with over 3,400 young people from 69 parishes and schools taking part.
The retreat centre in Pinner is now the venue of choice for national groups such as Youth 2000, Joel’s Bar, One Hope Project, the ASCENT and Catholic Student Network. All of them host their annual or biannual events at the centre, recognising the opportunity to deepen their own faith, and build relationships and support networks across the Church. Added to their number were the increasing number of Catholic schools from overseas who used the retreat centre as accommodation when visiting
London. The retreat centre’s proximity to transport links into Central London, coupled with the facilities on site make it an ideal location for overseas Catholic schools to combine an exciting trip to the cultural and historic attractions of London with a tranquil base where students can enjoy a retreat setting.
Going on a retreat allows a young person dedicated time and space to reflect on their faith, make time for prayer, and reflect more broadly on their lives. For children and young people in particular, a retreat can be a valuable break from busy schedules, digital distractions, the intensity of exam preparations, and the urgency of questions about what comes next for them.
The WYM retreat leaders create a bespoke experience with activities, games, guided reflections, and collective prayer and worship tailored to the ages and needs of the group. In response to feedback showing that young people derive greater benefit from their retreat when they spend more time in quiet prayer and contemplation, the team has increased the time dedicated to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during retreats.
Visitors to the Youth Retreat Centre also have free time in the course of a retreat to explore the beautiful grounds or spend time in the chapel for private prayer.
Groups, from Westminster and beyond, who have visited for a retreat continue to send back overwhelmingly
positive feedback. They praise the staff, the facilities, the food, the planning, and the schedule of activities, but above all the spiritual and mental benefits for guests.
The catechetical team from St Joseph and St Margaret Clitheroe Parish in Bracknell, in Portsmouth Diocese, were impressed with the welcome and the bespoke nature of the course content, so carefully put together to cater exactly to what their group needed.
They were also grateful for the retreat team’s support, helping them ‘navigate some of the more difficult challenges’ they
faced with their Confirmation candidates.
A Year 5 pupil attending a retreat appreciated the opportunity to work with stained glass ‘because it gave me an encounter with Christ in a fun way’. Another appreciated the influence on their faith, growing closer to God, and the ‘opportunity to say sorry’ for hurting a sibling. Yet another said ‘I felt close to God during the prayer stations as it allowed me to reflect on myself and my relationship with God, and it allowed me to pray for others.’ Making the connection between their faith and relationships with others is an invaluable lesson that many of the young people realised as the fruit of their retreat. As another retreatant explained: ‘My spiritual encounter on this retreat has been in [communion] with people I never expected to speak to or interact with,
not just from my year but from my school. I now feel comfortable in building a relationship with God together with them, as I felt alone before.’
For the WYM outreach team, 2023 was also a busy year. The team worked with 26 parishes, leading 32 events and programmes, reaching 1,500 young people. The year also saw the team involved in a number of significant national and international events. In March, they coordinated the attendance of over 900 young people from the diocese at the Flame Congress in Wembley Arena, a national gathering for young Catholics from across England and Wales, with inspirational talks, prayer, worship and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was an opportunity for young people from the diocese to journey with thousands of other young Catholics for a shared experience of Church in this country.
In late May, Antonia Salzano, the mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis, visited London to speak about her son. Almost 600 people, mostly young adults, attended an event organised by WYM at Farm Street, where Ms Salzano encouraged them to follow Blessed Carlo’s example, saying ‘Sainthood is not something to be ashamed of! Sainthood is part of our very constitution.’ Fittingly, her exhortation was followed by a time of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, as together those present strove to follow in Blessed Carlo’s footsteps in the journey of growing closer to the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament.
In August, the WYM team led a group of 40 pilgrims to Portugal where they joined Pope Francis and 1.5 million
young Catholics from around the world for World Youth Day. Prior to setting out for the journey, the outreach team ran Looking to Lisbon, a leadership programme, beginning in November 2022, for a group of young people who would support the team in Lisbon. Over the time leading up to World Youth Day, they had monthly seminars on faith formation and leadership, as well as practical skills like public speaking and leading a prayer meeting.
Stefan, a participant in the programme, described his experience at the Vigil the night before the final Mass with the Pope: ‘I was simply so touched by having this one-on-one encounter with Jesus, but at the same time, also to see 1.5 million other young people adoring Christ together with me. I think this also pinpoints that prayer is never fully one-to-one but is also a prayer together with the entirety of the Church.’
Kate, another pilgrim who is a primary school teacher in the diocese, hoped that her experience at World Youth Day would help her grow in her own faith: ‘I know how to help children with their faith. Having a better understanding of my own faith will help me help them more.’
For those who could not travel to Portugal for World Youth Day, the team organised a Summer Picnic in early September in the grounds of the retreat centre. Over 100 young adults attended this day of prayer, workshops, talks by guest speakers and Mass.
The team were also busy supporting the diocesan pilgrimages to Lourdes in July and Walsingham in September. Members of the team served as chaplains to the Redcaps, who volunteer to support pilgrims who require assistance in Lourdes. The chaplaincy team provided regular input during times of communal prayer for the Redcaps. For the Walsingham pilgrimage, the
team led a group of 41 young adults, who travelled together on the day.
To continue to build on the momentum of this remarkable year, WYM launched Upper Room Leadership in November, with the aim of forming engaged disciples to be fruitful in mission. Through training, prayer and listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the 15 participants will be equipped to lead others in parishes and chaplaincies to an encounter with Christ. Beginning in Advent 2023, the programme will continue until July 2024, when these young leaders will be called upon to support the Redcaps on the Lourdes pilgrimage.
