 | |
| Abbreviation | F.I.J. |
|---|---|
| Formation | 24 May 2006; 19 years ago (2006-05-24) |
| Coordinates | 46°56′17″N7°25′22″E / 46.938193°N 7.422684°E /46.938193; 7.422684 |
President | Henry Walker |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic Church |
| Website | www.juventutem.org |
Juventutem (Latin:Fœderatio Internationalis Juventutem) is an international movement of youngRoman Catholics of the ages 18 to 39 who are devoted to theTridentine Mass.[1] The aim of the society is to foster and strengthen relationships between these young people at the national and international levels, and to encourage and assist them in developing their faith.
Father Armand de MallerayFSSP, is the official Chaplain since 2004.[2]
The wordjuventutem is adeclension of theEcclesiastical Latinjuventus, meaning "youth", and is taken from Psalm 42(43):4, as used in the opening prayers of the Traditional Mass, which the priest andaltar server recite at the foot of thealtar:Introibo ad altare Dei. Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam. ("I will go in to the altar of God; to God who gives joy to my youth.")[1] In the Catholic understanding, the termjuventutem refers to the spiritual youth that comes from thegrace ofJesus Christ.[1]
Juventutem was established in April 2004 (and first given its name in May 2004) with the intention of having a delegation present at the internationalWorld Youth Day in 2005 and in subsequent years. The first Juventutem meeting was in 2005 inCologne, Germany, and was the first official delegation to anyWorld Youth Day. More than 1,000 young people from more than 20 countries attendedWorld Youth Day 2005 with Juventutem. Twocardinals and eightbishops participated in parts or all of the two-week meeting, as well as manypriests,religious andseminarians from several countries.
Juventutem groups have participated in each of the subsequent World Youth Day festivals:World Youth Day 2008 (Sydney, Australia),World Youth Day 2011 (Madrid, Spain),World Youth Day 2013 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), andWorld Youth Day 2016 (Kraków, Poland). Juventutem participated in WorldWorld Youth Day 2019 in Panama City, Panama where they held the firstSolemn Pontifical Mass in the country since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. ArchbishopAlexander King Sample presided over this liturgy. In 2023 Juventutem also participated in the World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. The movement celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2024.[3]
An umbrella organization, the Fœderatio Internationalis Juventutem (F.I.J.) was founded on 24 May 2006.[4] Early in its existence, the FIJ numbered more than fifteen nation-based groups, including ones in the United States, UK, Ireland, Australia, France, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Lithuania, Scotland, England, The Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Kenya, Hong Kong, and Hungary.
Members of the international Juventutem federation focus on the daily sanctification of youth according to the traditions of the Catholic Church. Attending World Youth Days is one of the possible means provided in order to reach that goal. As a consequence, those who are unable to attend World Youth Days (for various reasons) can join or start a local group within the international Juventutem federation – one such group is Young Catholic Adults (YCA), which was established in 2004 in the UK.[5]