Anyone working in youth ministry, especially in volunteer or mission activities, knows how challenging it is to go beyond mere “experiences” and ensure that something deeper remains. The Jóvenes Hospitalarios’ approach? Encounter, awareness, and listening.
Jóvenes Hospitalarios is a joint initiative of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God and the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—both with extensive experience in Spain and around the world. Their pastoral offerings include a range of volunteer experiences, combined with moments of prayer and community life, to deepen the meaning of what is lived and to respond to the call of Christ the Good Samaritan to practice Hospitality.
To ensure things don’t just stop there, from September 12 to 14 they held their ReEncuentro at the Fundación Instituto San José of the Brothers of St. John of God. Around 60 young people from across Spain gathered in Madrid to reflect on and share their experiences and to launch the new year.
The encounter included powerful testimonies, providing space for participants to express how their lives had been transformed: at Christmas with people experiencing homelessness, at Easter with the sick, through international volunteer work in Ecuador, during summer programs in centers for people with disabilities or mental health challenges—and a standout initiative: a Hospitality Jubilee for Young People, a deeply charismatic experience of pilgrimage through centers run by the Sisters and Brothers, living with residents, and glimpsing hope where only suffering might have been expected.
But it’s not enough to just relive past experiences. The weekend program aimed to uncover deeper expressions of the charism of Hospitality. Participants took part in awareness-raising workshops aimed at breaking down stigmas around different realities. They even played (and lost!) a soccer match with individuals recovering from mental illness and volunteers from AFAEP, an association providing support to these individuals and their families since 1991, closely connected with Fundación Hospitalarias Arturo Soria.
The young participants also attended a workshop led by a resident with intellectual disabilities from the San Juan de Dios Center in Ciempozuelos (Madrid). Above all, the goal was to listen—to the voice of God and the voices of young people. In line with the Synod on Youth, the weekend began with a prayer vigil themed “Where Are We Rowing?” This Holy Hour provided a space to lay the past year’s fruits before their Author and ask for grace to steer the new course toward deeper communion with Jesus the Good Samaritan, the source of the charism of Hospitality.
Above all, the goal was to listen—to the voice of God and the voices of young people. In line with the Synod on Youth, the weekend began with a prayer vigil themed “Where Are We Rowing?” This Holy Hour provided a space to lay the past year’s fruits before their Author and ask for grace to steer the new course toward deeper communion with Jesus the Good Samaritan, the source of the charism of Hospitality.
One of the most moving moments was Saturday afternoon’s Mass, celebrated in the unit for people with disabilities alongside its residents.
There, the young people realized that before the Sacred Heart of Jesus—burning with love for every human being—there is no distinction between “those being served” and “those who serve.” In fact, it is often the most vulnerable who have the most to teach us about faith and trust amid suffering.
Another highlight was the Hospitality Roundtable, where a Sister Hospitaller, a young postulant, and a young couple active in Jóvenes Hospitalarios shared how they each discerned God’s call to holiness through different states of life.
Throughout Saturday’s moments of prayer and reflection, young participants were invited to share where they felt God was calling them in life, and what they needed from the organization to answer that call.
One reflection stood out: the urgent need to bring God’s love into the world and to make a suffering world more hospitable.
The new Jóvenes Hospitalarios program year will be shaped by these contributions, with more opportunities for volunteering, prayer, and formation—accompanied by a focus on long-term processes.
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