MAGIS/World Youth Day in Brazil
MAGIS/World Youth Day in Brazil
World Youth Day was begun by Pope John Paul II as a way to capture the spirit of youth and inspire them to live the teachings of Christ. It is billed as a direct encounter with the Pope and it is typically celebrated every three years in a different country. This year WYD will be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 23-28th, 2013. In conjunction with World Youth Day, the Jesuits will be running a service-immersion program called MAGIS, where 2,000-3,000 students from Jesuit schools across the world will come to Brazil in advance of WYD to work with the poor and marginalized.
Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various favelas or slums in the country’s metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. The percentage of people living in poverty in Brazil is close to 30% - in figure in part attributed to the country’s economic inequality. Brazil ranks among the world’s highest nations in inequality assessment.
Students participating in the MAGIS program will be split up into “global teams” and sent out to work at a Jesuit mission somewhere in Brazil – anywhere from the jungles of the Amazon to the slums of Rio. You don’t know which team you will be assigned to until April – so you have to apply and accept this mission on faith! However, every immersion team will be accompanied by an American Jesuit who will be able to help you navigate your way.
After their immersion experience, teams will reunite with their school teams in Rio for several days of reflection in order to process their experiences. MAGIS will culminate with a mass with the Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J. After MAGIS is over, the teams move into World Youth Day, which will entail a number of prayers, reflections, vigils, stations and, of course, mass with the Pope!
Become part of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure! Live out your Catholic faith with thousands of others in this worldwide celebration! Don’t miss this one.
For further information, contact Lu Firestone at x 2422 or firestol@canisius.edu
