Indian Catholic Youth Movement

Indian Catholic Youth Movement
Motto To Lead, To Serve, To Shine
Formation 1985
Purpose Youth development programme in India
Headquarters New Delhi
Parent organisation
 Catholic Bishops' Conference of India
Website [http://www.icym.net/]

The Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) is the largest Catholic youth movement in India. It is spread across 627 districts in India. The ICYM functions through 14 Regions & 171 Dioceses. It is an organisation for the Catholic youth from three rites (Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara) of Christian community of across India.[1] The patron saint of Indian Catholic Youth Movement is St. Gonsalo Garcia.

History

The dreams and aspirations of thousands of youth, animators, directors and bishops turned into a reality when Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) had approved ICYM as a National Movement for the youth on 14 September 1999.

Activities

Integral Development of Youth through Formation, Fellowship and Action being the main objectives of youth ministry, ICYM caters to varied needs of the holistic development of its young members.

ICYM also coordinates National Delegations to World Youth Day, Asian Youth Day, World Youth Parliament and pilgrimages to Taize. It is collaborated with YCS/YSM and international youth body FIMCAP. It is also tied up with an international social network called UCANEWS which is the Catholic News Network in Asia. With its motto - "To Lead, To Serve, to Shine" there is a lot to be done and a whole community to be won.

ICYM ushers in a paradigm shift in the life of the 'Young Church'. The youth in India are in a dilemma of disunity and discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, language and culture. Lack of true leadership, raising fundamentalism, alienation, choking unemployment, corruption at all levels are the alarming realities of the day. As we cruise in to the new millennium with tremendous hope and aspirations, the members of ICYM are now ready to discover the new frontiers that unfold. It is in this distressful context that the ICYM address the need of these young persons and works at empowering them in to action not only within the church but a conscious and deliberate immersion in the mainstream of secular life and activity in the heart of the world. ICYM is the official state and regional organisation under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of IndiaCBCI. It gives support to the regional Youth Bodies like the "Kerala Catholic Youth Movement" (KCYM).[2] It consists of youngsters between the age group of 15– 35 years who subscribe to Catholic values and principles, but beneficiaries include the youth of other religions.

Today, ICYM has a membership strength of 104,685 young people making it one of the influential organisations in the region.

Office Bearers

Patron Saint

The patron of ICYM is St. Gonsalo Garcia, a Portuguese Indian who was born in the western coastal town of Vasai and died as a martyr in Japan and is venerated as a saint, one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan so venerated. Garcia was beatified in 1627 by Pope Urban VIII and canonised as a saint by Pope Pius XI on 8 June 1862.

Publications

ICYM had published three annual publications till yet

References

  1. ↑ "Set aside political differences: KCYM". The Hindu. 17 January 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.kcym.in
  3. ↑ http://www.icym.net/images/stories/ICYM_directory_2013.pdf
General

External links

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