Southern Africa Religious Launch Youth Synod 2026

by Kati Dijane · February 2, 2026

Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life Youth Synod

By Kati Dijane – The Youth Synod of the Leadership Conferences of Consecrated Life (LCCL) South Africa & Lesotho officially opened on Friday, January 30, at Don Bosco Youth Centre in the Archdiocese of Johannesburg. Bringing together 50 religious men and women of 14 religious congregations from South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho and Botswana, the gathering marked a significant step in strengthening youth ministry and deepening synodality within the Church in the region.

Nine priests, including the national chaplain of the Youth and Young Adults Ministry in the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Father Mahlako Motanyane, were present.

Addressing participants at the opening session, Father Vaclav Klement SDB, Provincial of the Salesians of Don Bosco for Southern Africa, reflected on the meaning, urgency and hope behind the Youth Synod, which concluded on 1 February 2026.

Youth as a sign of our times

Father Klement situated the Youth Synod within the broader journey of the Church, reminding participants that young people have increasingly been recognised as central to the Church’s life and mission. He recalled the establishment of World Youth Day by St John Paul II in 1985, which gave young Catholics a global platform of faith and encounter, culminating in historic gatherings such as the 1996 World Youth Day in Manila, attended by millions.

More recently, Pope Francis placed youth at the heart of the Church’s discernment through the 2015–2018 Synod process on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment, which elevated young people’s voices within the universal Church and reshaped pastoral approaches worldwide.

“Today,” Father Klement noted, “youth ministry is becoming an integral part of dioceses and religious congregations. However, this growth is often not accompanied by sufficient formation and training of ministers.” In response, some dioceses and congregations have begun organising Youth Synods to listen more intentionally to young people and those who serve them.

Within Southern Africa, the LCCL’s renewed focus on youth began with the relaunch of its Youth Team at the 2024 AGM. Quarterly online meetings, followed by the establishment of an Animation Team, helped religious discern the growing need for a shared space of reflection, learning and collaboration. This conviction that youth truly are at the heart of the Church ultimately led to the convocation of the 2026 Youth Synod.

Walking together on a synodal path

Father Klement emphasised that the Youth Synod is deeply rooted in the Church’s broader synodal journey, inspired by Pope Francis’ vision of a Synodal Church from 2021 to 2028. Synodality, he explained, is not an event but a way of being Church, disciples and missionaries walking together in prayerful listening and discernment.

At the heart of this process is what Pope Francis calls “conversation in the Spirit”: listening attentively to God, to one another, and to the lived experiences of young people.

“As youth ministers,” Father Klement stressed, “we are called not only to work for the young, but with them.” This approach echoes the call of African bishops for consecrated persons to become true missionaries of synodality, builders of communion, participation and mission.

The conversation in the Spirit began on Friday evening, as religious and young people engaged in dialogue about their personal dreams, the hopes of the Church, and the challenges they are called to address together.

Looking ahead: Expectations and discernment

The Youth Synod also looks toward the future. Among the expectations expressed by religious participants are opportunities to learn practical youth ministry skills and methods, share lived experiences and build networks with others involved in youth pastoral work across the region.

Young people themselves, through surveys and consultations, have expressed a strong desire to be heard, to voice their hopes, struggles and questions within the life of the Church.

Above all, Father Klement invited participants to remain open to the expectations of the Holy Spirit. “The Synod is not only about planning or strategy,” he said, “but about discerning what God is asking of us through the voices of the young.”

The Creed of a youth minister

Central to Father Klement’s address was the presentation of The Creed of a Youth Minister, a spiritual foundation for all those engaged in youth ministry.

The Creed affirms the deep conviction that God loves the young, a belief that lies at the origin of every vocation to youth ministry and animates all pastoral work. It recognises young people as bearers of hope and seeds of the Kingdom, with Jesus desiring to share his life with them.

It also proclaims faith in the active presence of the Holy Spirit within young people, through whom God seeks to build a more authentic and human Christian community. Young people, Father Klement said, carry a prophetic mission not only for the Church, but for the world.

The Creed challenges ministers to encounter God in the young, to recognise their dignity, and to educate them toward the fullness of life. It insists that no young person may be excluded from hope, especially those affected by poverty, failure or sin because God has planted the seed of new life in each of them.

The Youth Synod also took place during the feast of St John Bosco, the patron saint of young people. During Mass, Father Klement showed participants original pictures of the patron saint, emphasising the love this saint had for the youth and challenging youth mentors to emulate the example of the saint to lead the youth to heaven.

After the event, on Sunday, Father Lingoane Tlaile SDB, the coordinator of the youth ministry of the religious congregations in Lesotho, who facilitated the event over the weekend said his highlight of the event was witnessing young people expressing their hopes and dreams for the church while the religious listened to them.

The second youth synod will be hosted at Inkamana Monastery in the Diocese of Eshowe. More details will be announced. Father Rapheal Chonde OSB from the monastery said he was grateful for this initiative of the LCCLSA and Lesotho and looking forward to hosting participants.