The celebration of the XVIII Song Festival of the Augustinian Recollect Youth was held in Sevilla from November 2-4 with the motto, “We are a family, are you joining us?” There were hundreds of youth participants coming from different schools and pastoral centers. It was the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova, which promoted this program in the Basque Country (San Sebastian), Madrid, Castilla La Mancha (Guadalajara) and Andalucía (Granada, Motril and Sevilla).
The encounter began with the arrival of the participants in Triana, Sevilla, where the Festival would take place. After the dinner and presentation, the participants prayed together. The following morning, different groups have undergone various workshops organized by themes. The workshop, in particular, has dealt with volunteering in different social centers of the city. It was also a time for the last practices of the groups who had song entries.
It is one of the first activities organized by the Secretariat on Youth and Vocation Ministry. Thus, the festival entails every year the joint onset of all the local pastoral centers in Spain. During the last weeks, catechetical groups and other activities have started, but it is the festival that ends in the “lighting the wick.”
Festival
With a slight delay, the Song Festival began at around 17:30. There were 12 entries and others surprises within the competition. Finally, one of the songs coming from Colegio Santo Tomas de Villanova of Granada won. After dinner, there was the celebration of the Vigil-Eucharist, which ended that eventful day. The whole morning of the following day has had various moments, highlighting the city gymkhana, which allowed the participants to know the most picturesque and representative places of the city. Towards noon, lunch was served and the time to bid farewell came, ending this encounter with music, prayer and friendship.