Bayside Jubilee celebration and pilgrimage inspire hope for student leaders

On Friday 29 August, more than a thousand student leaders from Catholic schools across Melbourne’s south came together at St Bede’s College, Mentone, for a special Southern Region youth gathering focused on the Jubilee Year theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. The day—incorporating music, prayer, conversation, a bayside walking pilgrimage and Mass—was designed to draw young people into a deeper experience of faith, hope and community.

The event brought together students from Avila College (Mt Waverley), De La Salle College (Malvern), John Paul College (Frankston), Kilbreda College (Mentone), Killester College (Springvale), Mazenod College (Mulgrave), Nazareth College (Noble Park North), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College (Bentleigh), Padua College (Mornington), St John’s Regional College (Dandenong), St Kevin’s College (Toorak), Sacred Heart Girls College (Oakleigh), and the host school, St Bede’s College.

‘Hope is Alive’

The day began with joy and energy, as Catholic singer-songwriter Gen Bryant and her band led the gathered students in song and inspired them with stories of hope. The band had the auditorium clapping, singing and dancing almost immediately.

Gen shared some of her own faith journey, speaking about the importance of being a ‘small voice in a big world’ and trusting God’s plan. Quoting Jeremiah 29:11, she reminded the students that God has special plans for each one of them, ‘plans to give you hope and a future’.

She also reflected on the powerful experience of performing at World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023, in the presence of Pope Francis, and on how inspiring it was to see millions of young people united in faith, hope and joy. She wanted, she said, to bring that energy back to Australia and continue to strengthen the hope, joy and faith of young people—especially those in our Catholic schools—encouraging them to walk together as people of hope.

Her band’s Jubilee Year anthem, ‘Hope is Alive’, became a refrain for the day, encouraging the students to step out of their comfort zones and to use their God-given gifts to make a difference in their own communities: ‘Hope is alive! Lift up your eyes, hope is alive in us!’

Journeys of hope

In the second session, which was also led by Gen and the ‘GB Team’, students worked in small groups to explore the theme of pilgrimage more deeply. They spoke about the ‘roadblocks’ and ‘rest stops’ they encounter on their own journeys of faith and hope.

Among the roadblocks they named were procrastination, self-doubt, mental health challenges, judgement from others, partying and other distractions, and the pressures of schoolwork.

But they also recognised the sources of encouragement that sustained them: family, God, friends, teachers, hobbies, gratitude, prayer and a sense of determination and anticipation about the future.

They spoke openly about what they appreciated in the Church today—opportunities for retreats, school events and youth gatherings ‘like this one’—and what they hoped to see in the future. Many wanted to see more inclusivity, conversations about faith that are more personal and ‘more direct’, and more spaces where they could connect with like-minded peers. One group put it simply, saying they wanted the Church in the future to ‘be a more unified place, not just for older members in this community, but also for our young people’, who they hoped would have ‘more of a voice, and be more involved’, and remain ‘a source of hope’ for the Church and the world, ‘especially in troubling times’.

Walking together

After lunch, the students set out on their own mini-pilgrimage, walking from St Bede’s College to St Brigid’s Church in Mordialloc along the shoreline of Mentone Beach. Before they set off, each was given a small stone to carry, a symbol of both life’s burdens and the hope that comes from placing them in God’s hands.

Introducing the walk, youth minister Kevin Joshua from St John’s Regional College in Dandenong invited the students to reflect on what they might need to let go of. He shared his own powerful story of struggle and renewal.

‘I lived a life where I really wanted to do so many great things, but because I got myself into bad friendship groups, I was doing all the wrong things,’ he recalled of his high-school years. ‘I felt like I did not belong … and I lacked a lot of hope … I went into a very, very dark time in my life where I wanted to run away from hope. And when I wanted to run away, God took that moment to rupture my Achilles tendon, and I couldn’t even walk.’

Through that painful time, he encountered God’s presence in a new way. Bedridden and waiting for surgery, he and his mum started watching Mass every day. ‘Through that, I was able to see the light of God and finally have purpose, because at the end of Mass, when the priest says, “Go forth and proclaim the Gospel of the Lord,” just like that, I was able to have a purpose in life.’

Emphasising the gift and value of ‘the person you are right now’, he encouraged the students to see themselves as sources and emblems of hope: ‘You are hope to the person on your left. You are hope to the person on your right’. He also encouraged them, as they walked along the beach, to think about and let go of the things that might be holding them back ‘from being that hope’.

Pilgrimage and the cross

The walk concluded at St Brigid’s, where parish priest Fr Andrew Jekot celebrated Mass with the students and staff. In his homily, he reflected on Jesus’ own life, including its suffering and hope.

‘Jesus’ pilgrimage here on earth, these 33 years that he walked this earth, included suffering, and a suffering not caused by himself, but thrust upon him from others, and suffering resulting in his death on the cross,’ he said.

‘And you might be thinking, where is the hope in all of this?’ The remarkable thing, Fr Jekot said, is that even at the ‘point of death, he forgave those people who did this to him … Who does that? Well, Jesus does that. There is hope even in the adversity of life.’

Fr Jekot urged the students to see themselves as participants, not just observers, in God’s mission.

‘All that God is asking of us is not to let the world go by, not to be just an observer of life, but a participant in life. And you guys are discovering what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about, learning about your purpose and your existence. Keep discovering, learning, participating, taking calculated risks in learning, striving for the stars. Bring all this to some form of prayer and share this with God, and God will answer your prayer.’

He reminded them that the Jubilee Year is about hope made real in our world, and that we are called to be ‘people of hope … in a world where many only see darkness’.

Why would we consider the marginalised and the oppressed, he asked the gathered students, and why would we be concerned about creation and making our habits sustainable, or standing up for what is right and just? ‘Because we want God’s kingdom of peace and harmony not just to be in the heavens but here on earth. And we are hopeful that this can happen,’ he said. ‘Our hope is calling us in that direction.’

Pebbles of hope

At the conclusion of Mass, Fr Andrew returned to the pebbles the students had carried on their walk, describing each small stone as ‘a symbol of life’s challenges and burdens. It also for us becomes a symbol of hope, as we are pilgrims of hope.’

He invited the young congregation to pray with their stones in hand, responding to the words of the closing prayer with the words ‘I embrace hope. I walk in hope’:

God of Hope, we come before you today with open hearts.
We thank you for the opportunity to gather and share, and we release the burdens we carry.
Help us to embrace the hope that comes from you and guide us as we continue on our journeys.
May we always remember that in our weakness, your strength shines through.
Give us the courage to move forward, trusting in your promise.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

With those words, the day closed as it had begun, with the voices of young people lifted together in faith and hope.