Youth ministers from 22 ecclesiastical territories across Mindanao and the Sulu area will gather in Davao City from October 21 to 24 for a congress focused on synodality, faith formation, and missionary engagement among young Catholics.
The Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) Youth Congress 2026 will carry the theme “Mindanaoan Youth: Rooted in Love, Rising for Mission,” bringing youth ministers together for formation, fellowship, dialogue, and discernment.
Mindanao, the Philippines’ second-largest island, is home to diverse religious and cultural communities. The congress seeks to strengthen the Catholic Church’s engagement with young people in the region and prepare youth leaders to respond to challenges in both physical communities and digital spaces.
Bishop Jose R. Rapadas III, who oversees the MSPC Youth Commission, said the gathering would offer participants an opportunity to deepen their understanding of synodality and its implications for the Church’s mission.
“The congress will gather youth ministers from the 22 ecclesiastical territories of Mindanao for a meaningful experience of formation, fellowship, dialogue, and discernment, especially in the light of our synodal journey as a Church,” Rapadas said.
He emphasized that synodality should not be understood merely as a Church process but as a way of life rooted in listening, walking together, and discerning God’s will as a community.
The congress also aims to strengthen young people’s faith through synodal accompaniment, helping them navigate contemporary challenges while remaining active participants in the life and mission of the Church.
Rapadas highlighted the need to empower young leaders as missionary disciples and agents of transformation in their local communities and online environments.
Through formation and dialogue, the gathering seeks to encourage youth ministers to accompany young people more effectively and help them translate their faith into concrete missionary action.
The four-day congress comes amid the Catholic Church’s wider emphasis on synodality, which calls for greater participation, communion, and shared responsibility among clergy, religious, and laypeople in discerning and carrying forward the Church’s mission.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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