Our Youth Mission usually takes place each year for one week.  The mission programme takes place in the schools and includes evening activities.  The programme addresses six area of the comprehensive youth ministry model: community life, prayer and worship, pastoral care, evangelisation, advocacy, justice and service.  The main focus of the programme takes place within the schools and the evening activities are designed to build relationships with young people emphasising the Church as a community and beginning with prayer to underline the importance of prayer in all aspects of our lives.

For St. Patrick’s Parish the emphasis for our young is that they experience that Jesus is love, they look beyond and see the face of Jesus in each situation, as they realise that God is present in our everyday lives; our family, work, study, sport, music and prayer.  With that being said the Parish has witnessed an increase of young people interested in giving of their time by assisting with the sick and infirm.  Their Christianity shines out in their love and care of the sick.

On Sunday, July 6th 2008, I began my pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Sydney. I couldn't believe it was actually beginning. There were about twenty-five young people going from Dundalk and we all got a coach from St. Patrick's Church. After two and a half hours, getting lost on the way, we finally arrived at Belfast City Airport. We flew from Belfast to Heathrow. We had a two-hour wait in Heathrow before boarding our twenty-hour flight. We finally boarded our plane.

'Come and See' Jn 1:48

The motivation for going to India is to inspire each student to live the message of the Gospel in new ways, as well as opening their eyes to the level of poverty and illness that exists, not just in India but in the world today.  One student summed up in a few simple words the feelings of all who travelled in June, ‘the greatest gift we have is the gift of loving, it is only in coming here that we can begin to use it’

Coordinator: Mark O Hagan