Mozambique’s National Youth Celebrations Open with Call for Young People to Lead Healing, Renewal of the Country

Maputo, 04 December, 2025 / 4:30 PM

The Third National Youth Day (JNJ) celebrations have opened in Mozambique with a call on young people to become a driving force of hope, unity, and social healing in the Southern African nation.

In his homily during the opening Mass of JNJ 2025, Archbishop João Carlos Hatoa Nunes of Mozambique’s Catholic Archdiocese of Maputo urged young people to see themselves not as the future of the Church, but as its active and essential present.

“Youth is a seed God has planted in the earth and must bloom now,” Archbishop Nunes said during the Wednesday, December 3 event that was held at Our Lady of the Conception Cathedral of Maputo Archdiocese.

He encouraged young Mozambicans to act not as “tourists of faith” but as “pilgrims of hope”, capable of transforming environments marked by fatigue, fear, and disbelief.

Held from December 3–7 on the theme “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts”, the gathering has drawn thousands of young people from dioceses across the country.

Archbishop Nunes challenged participants to face Mozambique’s pressing social challenges including unemployment, insecurity, social tensions, and fragile family structures, with courage and faith.

 “Hope does not disappoint because it does not rest on us but on God, who never fails,” he said in reference to the Bull of Induction of the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).

Archbishop Nunes called on the youth to bring unity where there is division, consolation where there is sorrow, and presence where there is loneliness.

He noted that the missionary spirit required today must be lived through closeness, compassion, and listening. 

“Whoever loves Jesus cannot remain silent,” he insisted, noting that true evangelization is born from the transforming power of Christ’s love. 

Archbishop Nunes said young people must allow their faith to “illuminate, unsettle, and send them forth.”

The Catholic Archbishop described youthfulness as a time of creativity, boldness, and decisive action, qualities he considers vital for renewing both Church and society. 

He encouraged the young people not to accept being labeled a problem but to embrace their role as “a concrete response” to Mozambique’s challenges. 

“Where there are Lenten faces, young people must bring Easter,” he said.

The Catholic Church leader noted that the work of evangelization is not a burden but a joyful calling born of the Holy Spirit. 

Citing St. Francis Xavier, he said true evangelization springs from passion and generosity, saying, “Faith is not wasting time. It is gaining life.”

Archbishop Nunes also underscored the need for reconciliation and unity, urging the youth to bring forgiveness where there are wounds and to help heal divisions within families, parishes, and communities. 

“Bring ‘Alleluia’ where there is sadness,” he told them, calling Christian joy a powerful force for transformation.

Reaffirming the strength of Christian hope, he reminded the young people that “God never gives up, never fails, and never abandons.” 

Archbishop Nunes urged them to resist pessimism and remain steadfast despite the material and existential difficulties many face, including challenges related to education, employment, and personal security.

“The Church needs young people today, not tomorrow. You are not the problem; you are the answer,” he said.