by Joe Magri, AYCW, National Mentor.
A small group of Young Christian Students (YCS) and Young Christian Workers (YCW) leaders recently met to begin mapping the best approach to follow up on contacts made with various schools from around the country that expressed interest in YCS at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) booth late last year. The group consisted of a YCS leader, another YCS leader who had just graduated, a YCS mentor, a YCW Youth Engagement Officer, the YCW National Community Organiser, and me, the National Mentor. It was a productive meeting – starting off with a discussion about the nature of the contacts (see), discerning how best to approach them in keeping with the values of the YCS/YCW (judge), and deciding on a course of action (act). There was a lot of discussion about updating resources and providing materials for the teachers and school officials, but in the end, the group decided to take a relational approach by inviting the teachers, one by one, to an online meeting with a couple of YCS leaders. The plan is for the YCS leaders to explain what the YCS is and the lifelong impact it has had on them, and to continue their formation journey into the YCW. Of course, there will be the necessary preparation meetings, and resources will eventually need to be updated in due course. The new schools, some of which are in Dioceses without YCS/YCW presence, will be supported through online meetings and, potentially, field visits.
A small group of Cardijn Community Australia (CCA) members, YCS and YCW leaders also came together in Adelaide late last year. They came together following a centenary celebration to determine how best to support the development of YCS and YCW in Adelaide. There are schools that would be interested in the YCS and individual contacts in various parishes to follow up for the YCW. Each person in the group has their own network of personal contacts that can help, and will no doubt be meeting again soon to decide on a course of action for 2026.
I share real-life examples of how people, young and old, are working together, united by a common vision that began with Cardijn 100 years ago. They are also, at the same time, the seeds of hope for the coming year, inspiring and challenging us to spread the movement in other parts of the country, needed more than ever before.
In a speech Cardijn gave to the Chaplains of the YCW of England, many years ago, Cardijn starts by talking about the issues of the day, followed by an explanation about the Three Truths, which eloquently dovetails into a section titled “A United Movement”. Cardijn talks about the need for collaboration at all levels and a preoccupation for the personal formation of all boys and girls. Cardijn goes on to talk about the need for a ‘branch for teenagers’ that should be lead by the “over-twenties” who “must more and more prepare leaders for the adult continuation of the YCW” not only for the formation of the teenagers and over-twenties but also so we “can have a great influence on political life” through the trade unions, community life and where ever people gather. “They can promote the YCW by telling boys and girls how they have been in the YCW and all that they have gained. They can, further, have a greater influence with officials in the borough and neighbourhood…”
Significantly, Cardijn, speaking to the Chaplains, prefaces his talk about a “United Movement” with a section titled “Not Separation But Unity” where he explains that “The Church is one apostolic body; to spread the reign of God in life, in humanity, it is one…. We must not separate the Church; if we do, we break the Church, we destroy the Church.” For Cardijn, the work of the Chaplains in the parish was the same as the daily lives of the young workers in the factories. “They are the boys and girls of your parish, and you must know what are the influences and the difficulties of your parish boys and girls every day” …. even though “they do not remain in the parish”.
Emboldened by Cardijn’s vision, may the CCA continue to see yourselves as the adult continuation of the YCW, part of a united movement that seeks to influence political life, daily life and dare I say even Church life.
I like to conclude this article with a few words about the issues we are facing in 2026, like how Cardijn began all his talks. Cardijn always begins his talks by “Seeing the Problem” because in doing so, we discover the burning contradiction where the Spirit fires us up to act. It is the vision, mission and purpose of the YCW that always makes it relevant.
Cardijn begins his talk to the Chaplains about the increase in the number of working youth worldwide, their misery, and the gap between the rich and the poor. He also talks about the danger of false solutions everywhere – communism, materialism, political solutions and so forth. So too must we turn our minds to the signs of our times – to the transformation of working life through AI, hyper-capitalism, the rise of populist authoritarianism and the extreme right. It is a reality that pervades all aspects of life, as seen in the rise of poverty and loneliness among young people, weaponizing of migrants and refugees, polarisation of opinions fueled by the algorithms of our social media, the mental health crisis, the epidemic of domestic, family and sexual violence, and the rise of misogyny among young men. Our Church is not immune from these trends, as seen in the rise of Christian nationalism in the USA, with its flow-on effects in Australia and solutions that seek to separate Church from life, promoting a movement that considers itself ‘more Catholic than the Pope’.
This is our starting point, but let us not be naïve that the challenge is great, and we will need to celebrate every step along the way. Following the lead of the young student leaders, we need to build one person at a time in a relational way. Let us do this in 2026, together as a united movement.