Australian Catholic Youth Festival

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Australian Catholic Youth Festival

This is the final article in our series prior to the 2019 Festival event in Perth.

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival is a national gathering of Catholic young people established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The Festival provides young people with opportunities to deepen their relationship with Jesus, be empowered to be disciples in the world, and encounter and celebrate the vitality of the Church in Australia.

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival will:

  • Provide a high quality formative and experiential opportunity for young Catholics to encounter Jesus Christ in the context of the Catholic Church in Australia.
  • Listen to and discuss issues in the lives of young Catholics in Australia.
  • Evangelise young people and empower them to be evangelists.
  • Provide young people with local examples and connections to vocations, social action, liturgy and prayer, Catholic music and catechesis.
  • Include an Expo which will provide an interactive space for Festival participants to encounter the breadth of the Catholic Church in Australia in new and unexpected ways. The Expo will include music and activities and stands containing displays and information.

The Archdiocese of Perth is hosting the Festival from 8-10 December 2019 between approximately 9:30am and 8:30pm each day.

The Festival venue is the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, 21 Mounts Bay Road, Perth, WA 6000. The final mass will be held on the oval of Trinity College, 2 Trinity Avenue, East Perth, WA 6004.

The Festival is for young people from year 9 (in 2019) to young adults 30 years of age. Young people under the age of 18 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult and registered as part of a group. To ensure a safe and secure setting for the Festival, registration restrictions apply.

Perth Catholic Youth Festival video invitation

Festival Schedule Information

The Festival experience includes a variety of activities across each day. The overall schedule for the Perth Festival is:

Sunday, 8 December and Monday, 9 December
9:30am - Morning Plenary (Doors open 8:30am)
11:00am - Festival Activities - workshops, music stages, expo hall, prayer and discussion
6:30pm - Evening Plenary (Doors open 5:30pm)
8:30pm - Close

Tuesday, 10 December
9:30am - Festival Activities - workshops, music stages, expo hall, prayer and discussion (Doors open 9am)
3:00pm - Pilgrimage Walk to Closing Mass Site
4:30pm - Closing concert
6:30pm - Closing Mass
8:30pm - Conclusion

Salvatorian Youth Group

In addition, the Salvatorian youth group have an extended pre-Festival program for the two days prior to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival. Youth aged 15 and over may attend the pre-Festival events on Friday and Saturday, December 6 and 7. These events will take place in Currambine and the Perth CBD. The pre-Festival program will include sightseeing, workshops, worship and fellowship.

For further information on the pre-Festival program, email salvatorianyouthau@gmail.com with a subject of ACYF. You will be provided with email updates as the program is developed.

Currambine is approximately 30 Km north of the Perth CBD and is the Australian home of the Salvatorians.

Catholic Youth of Broken Bay

Broken Bay has a program sending delegates to the Festival as a group. The details and registration for this specific Broken Bay program are available at the link below. The Broken Bay program will unite schools and parishes around the Diocese to experience the Festival together. It also means the Festival is not experienced as a "one-off" event but as an opportunity to continue building connections after returning home.

Broken Bay is offering subsidies of $500 for delegates attending via their parish and full subsidies for successful applicants attending as Broken Bay group leaders.

Selected travel arrangements facilitated by Harvest Journeys ABN 36 056 849 426 (Level 11/133 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000, (02) 9390 5460).

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