MARIST Youth Ministry regional co-ordinator Christian Nobleza last week officially said goodbye to the community that he’s called family for the past five years.
Mr Nobleza finished up his role in what was a “bitter-sweet” decision.
“But I have a lot of peace about the decision that I’ve made,” he said.
Marist Schools Australia national director Br Michael Green thanked Mr Nobleza on behalf of the Australian Marist community for his work with it over the past five years.
“Each has benefited from his energy, his intellect and his great talent,” Br Green said. “In particular, in the area of Marist Youth Ministry, Christian has built up a vibrant community of Young Marists in Brisbane, enriched each year by newly graduating students.”
Mr Nobleza has stopped working for the Marist Brothers, but the former Marist College Rosalie student said he would “always be part of the family”.
“For me, I’ve come to really value my time as part of the Marist family,” he said. “At the end of the day, Marist is the way I experience God and the Church, and the expression of ministry. The question for me now is how can I be Marist in other areas that God’s calling me to.”
Mr Nobleza said Marist Youth Ministry was always guided by the vision to make it “an experience of home for young people in the Church”.
“Youth ministry has become an experience of home for many of our young people, and I’ve worked hard to have that as our guiding vision,” he said.
Mr Nobleza said he was looking forward to a “well-deserved holiday” in South East Asia over the summer.
After his holiday, Mr Nobleza said he was open to the possibility of further study possibly in the area of pastoral counselling or French and Spanish.
-Emilie Ng
