A fortnight before Easter, around twenty young adults from every continent gathered together with Brother Roger to work on this statement. It was made public during Easter Sunday afternoon in the Church of Reconciliation. Here is the text:

The Risen Christ comes to bring a feast to life in the innermost part of the human being. Christ is preparing for us a springtime of the Church – a Church stripped of means of power, ready to share with all, a place of visible community for all humanity. Christ will give us enough imagination and courage to open a path of reconciliation and is preparing us to give our life so that people are no longer victims of people.

These brief sentences, explored one after the other, served as a basis for prayer, reflection and commitment for young people during the period of preparation for the Council of Youth, from 1970 to 1974.

Council of Youth. Brother Roger with Giuseppe Roncalli, brother of Pope John XXIII
(Photo: all rights reserved)