Photo: Emilie Ng
By Emilie Ng
CONTAGIOUS energy and love for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church touched more than 1200 young people at the Ignite Conference 2014 held in Brisbane last weekend.
Running in its 10th year, Ignite Conference 2014 captured young hearts living in Australia, New Zealand and even families travelling from Canada.
Friday night’s Adoration and Benediction was a highlight for delegates, with many moved to tears as they came face-to-face with Jesus Christ and His mercy.
Good Shepherd Catholic College Mount Isa student Matthew Hutchinson said the atmosphere of being in Adoration with 1200 other young people was “amazing”.
“Kneeling with the rest of Ignite Conference youth, it was so empowering to see so many young kids like me, having that one goal, just to be with Christ,” he said.
Capuchin Friars’ postulant Matthew Timonera said being in Adoration with hundreds of young people was “not something you see everyday”.
“I hope a lot of them get something out of this spiritually and take it with them later,” Mr Timonera said.
More than 500 delegates were attending for the first time, making this year’s conference an “introduction to the fullness of the faith”.
The theme for Ignite 2014 was “Everything that is illuminated, becomes a light”, from Ephesians 5:13.
Ignite Conference’s communications and partnerships co-ordinator Michaela Hillam said the conference’s mission was to give young people on the fringes of the Church a “new impression of the Church”.
“We want to change their idea of what Church is, which is something that society or the world has told them,” Miss Hillam said.
“It can be relevant to their lives,” she said.
