Youth 2000

Companions along the road
Noel co-leads School of Community, but he also leads another Catholic movement, Youth 2000.... What is it?

On Friday evening, in the Italian church in the city, the “young people’s School of Community” is lead by Gianluca, an Associate Professor of Real Estate Finance at Reading, and someone you wouldn’t expect, Noel Murphy, the English leader of the Youth 2000 Catholic movement. What is it? “Youth 2000 was born in 1990,” explains Noel, “to respond to Pope John Paul II’s invitation at the Fourth World Youth Day: “You young people in particular have the task of testifying to the faith today.” It is a movement of evangelization, founded by Ernest Williams, a young Englishman who drew inspiration from the spirituality of Medjugorje. Intended for young people between the ages of 16 and 35, it centers on three moments in particular: Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and prayer groups in parishes. “We organize retreats, courses on the faith, and pilgrimages. The climax event every year is the ‘prayer festival’ at the Walsingham Sanctuary.” Today, Youth 2000 is in 25 countries, from Russia to Australia, from Spain to the United States. How many belong? “Every event in England draws about 2,000 people, though it’s not easy to count them because the proposal is free, without registration or membership.”
So then, we have young people who bring God to other young people... Noel has been guiding Youth 2000 in England since February. “I am greatly helped in living this responsibility by the education I get from School of Community.” This story began in 2005, at the World Youth Day in Cologne, when Noel heard people talk about CL. “When I returned to London, I started looking right away for someone. Because of the exceptionality I have seen over these years, I can now request membership in the Fraternity, the road for the rest of my life.”