Several hundred young people from all the Catholic dioceses of Belarus came to Ivianiec on July 27 for the meeting of Catholic Youth of Belarus. This year the theme of the meeting is: "I am a knight of the Gospel" in reference to the 90th anniversary of the visit to Grodno by St. Maximilian Kolbe, who is a patron of Belarusian youth.
In the evening the Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa in her pilgrimage through the world in defense of life came to the meeting. The visit of Mary was a great experience for all. The Holy Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Metropolitan of Minsk and Mahilyow together with Bishop Kazimierz Wielikosielcem and Fr. Andrew Steckiewicz. The Archbishop during his sermon referred to the history of the icon of Czestochowa. He said that today's world speaks of many crises: financial, family… but it should be noted that the cause is one, and that is the crisis of faith. That is why we need to be knights of the Gospel and not be afraid of contemporary challenges. He also referred to the defense of every human life from conception, urging young people to engage in the great work for life. He also emphasized that the Czestochowa icon pilgrimage organized by pro-life movements from different countries brings people and churches of various denominations togather and especially the cooperation between the Catholic and Orthodox Church.
Young people for a long time prayed through the icon. Each of them brought a lighted thin wax candle as a sign of one’s prayer and placed it before the altar. The atmosphere of this meeting was wonderful.
The next day Our Lady of Czestochowa in her Icon will cross the border with Latvia.