For many young people, the Australian Catholic Youth Festival is their first (and sometimes, only) opportunity to explore the Catholic faith outside of a classroom setting. It might also be their first time to see a large gathering of people their age unashamedly expressing their faith. Youth leader Wayne Matautia, who hails from Melbourne’s outer suburban parish of Craigieburn, describes the festival experience as ‘eye-opening’.
‘God definitely planted a seed in me that I didn’t know at the time,’ he shares.
In 2019, Wayne was invited by his local parish to attend the festival in Perth. ‘I said yes, but not for the right intentions,’ he says. At the time, he saw the event ‘as a three-to-four-day getaway’ and nothing more.
‘Looking back now,’ he says, there were ‘powerful moments of fellowship’, but back then he says he was ‘blind to it’.
‘I didn’t see the beauty of what was happening before me.’
On the first night of the festival, after the opening Mass, Wayne says he got into a bit of trouble with his group leader. ‘I stuffed up big time ... and I was in my head. I knew I was going home the next day,’ he recalls.
‘But after a stern talking to, my youth coordinator gave me a second chance, and I knew that I couldn’t waste that second chance. I just told myself that I have to pull my head in and take this more seriously,’ recalls Wayne.
The next few days at the festival were ‘beautiful’, says Wayne.
‘Heading inside the exhibition centre in Perth and attending the plenary sessions and seeing so many young Catholics in one setting was eye-opening,’ says Wayne. The live performances, workshops and listening to other people’s testimonies were something that Wayne felt he could relate to. ‘It really changed my perspective,’ he says.
‘The turning point for me was the adoration [of the Blessed Sacrament]. Everyone in the auditorium kneeling before God, with the spotlight shining upon him in darkness. It was so beautiful.’
Walking alongside other young people to the festival’s closing Mass was another key moment for Wayne. ‘Seeing so many Catholics in one setting under the sunset ... I could really feel God’s presence,’ he shares.
Motivated to go deeper, Wayne and his fellow pilgrims came home excited to form a youth group in their parish. ‘After sharing experiences and telling our stories, we decided to launch our youth group and at our first info session, we had around 20–30 people attend,’ explains Wayne. ‘[Everyone] wrote down what they wanted from the youth group and a lot of them said they wanted to learn more about their faith, just like me.’
Unluckily, it was only a few months later that the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and due to the various lockdowns and restrictions, the group’s momentum eventually faded. ‘And so did my faith,’ admits Wayne.
‘But you know, God’s timing is always perfect. This year, I was able to find my faith again through Holy Hour adoration at St Patrick’s Cathedral and through the True North young adults group.
Wayne has since been asked by his parish priest and youth coordinator to lead his parish’s next pilgrimage to ACYF. ‘The same youth coordinator who was about to send me home asked me if I could lead the parish youth group to this year’s festival,’ says Wayne, smiling. ‘Straight away, I said yes!’
Wayne says he feels honoured to have been asked to lead the group, especially after his own experiences in 2019.
‘My youth coordinator, she was literally a rock during that time. You know, we had ups and downs. But she was the rock that held us all together. Having that support and also the support of our parish priest was really good.
‘It took time, but I could see that seed [of faith] growing within me, all due to God.’
Wayne says he’s looking forward to leading the group and sharing his experiences with the pilgrims—many of whom have not experienced a youth event on this scale before.
‘I’m happy that they’re willing to go into this wholeheartedly, to connect with God and build their faith.
‘I can’t explain it, but seeing them grow in faith helps me grow in my faith as well. I find joy in that.’
Banner image: Youth leader Wayne Matautia. (Photo: Melbourne Catholic.)
