Interim Director of the Catholic Union, Tristan Feunteun, writes:
St Joan of Arc, Patron Saint of France, had liberated her country before her death at the age of 19. The London-born Blessed Carlo Acutis had – as the Holy Father confirmed this week – performed miracles before his death at the age of 15. And many press comments note that there was also something miraculous about a pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres last week – in one of Europe’s most avowedly secular countries – attracting up to 20,000 pilgrims, with an average age of 23. Pope Francis pointed out last year that, in a world “gripped by despair, fear, and depression”, the youth must “try to sow seeds of hope in the lives of…friends and everyone around”. This week’s encouraging developments give us reasons to be joyous – whatever our age.