Young adults including parishioners and friends of St. Matthew Parish in Conshohocken joined Archbishop Nelson Pérez Jan. 27 at the nearby Great American Pub for a talk, a question-and-answer session, and social time together.
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St. Matthew’s Young Adults was started in the early 1990s. After taking a pause for a while it resumed last year. Archbishop Pérez also spoke at its first Theology on Tap event last September as Jessica Runyen, the organization’s president and Theology on Tap coordinator, had met him through the Office for Ministry with Young Adults (OMYA) as he commissioned all OMYA missionary disciples.
“I was very excited,” said Runyen. “It points to his passion for working with young adults. I’m glad to have the accessibility to work with him.”
Nearly 100 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, came out to the event. The Archbishop talked about synodality, his recent pastoral letter and the future of the Catholic Church, especially the role that young folks can play in that future.
Several members of the St. Matthew Rosary Group that usually pray the rosary together on Mondays also came and listened to the Archbishop.
“We decided to support the young people,” said Ed Garbacz, a parishioner of St. Matthew. “It’s nice to see a lot of these young people out.”
Father Joseph Devlin, pastor of St. Matthew, opened the evening with a prayer. He recognized Archbishop Pérez as shepherd of the local church, and pointed to their personal bond as classmates during their years of formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
“He’s remained present and accessible,” Father Devlin said of the Archbishop. “We’re grateful for that. We give him a warm welcome to Conshohocken.”
Archbishop Pérez spoke at length about his pastoral letter to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and his invitation for everyone to join him in “a conversation about our future,” he wrote in the letter. “Your voices and presence are essential as we navigate our way forward together as the Church of Philadelphia.”
His message in three languages and a video, plus ways to join local discussions and other information can be viewed at http://trustandhope.org/.
“Pray about it with an open heart,” he said to the audience in Conshohocken. “What role does the Lord want you to play in that?”
Archbishop Perez recalled how at a press conference announcing he had been appointed by Pope Francis as the next Archbishop of Philadelphia in January 2020, he responded to a question about whether he planned to close parishes.
“I came here to build up a Church, not to close parishes,” he recalled saying at the time..
“Where does the Church need to be and how?” the Archbishop asked rhetorically as he began to tell the audience about the concept of missionary hubs, a new vision for Catholic parish life developed with Catholic Leadership Institute.
He explained the intention to plant 10 missionary hubs throughout the Philadelphia region in the coming decade. Parish churches, Catholic schools and Catholic institutions would work together in a given region as a hub of service in the spirit of missionary discipleship.
“Missionary hubs (will) reach out to people that need to hear about Christ (with hope),” Archbishop Pérez said, “and hope does not disappoint.”
The Archbishop concluded his talk by reminding the listeners of their baptismal call to live as missionary disciples.
During the Q-A session, Tommy DiBenedetto, a member of Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Bryn Mawr, wanted to know how the Archbishop sees young adults participating in missionary hubs.
“You’re going to make it happen,” said Archbishop Pérez. “That’s my call to you. I’m not going to make it happen. I’m just moving forward.”
Before concluding the evening, Lou Becht of St. Anthony of Padua Parish and a staff member of the archdiocesan Strategic Planning Office, reminded everyone of the role they can play in being missionary disciples who draw people closer to God.
“The Catholic Church in Philadelphia is the greatest resource in the five-county Archdiocese,” said Becht.
Speaking for the Catholic young adults joining her for the evening, Runyen was “hoping that they feel a call or sense of responsibility to be missionary disciples,” she said. “As missionary disciples, we bring other people to Christ.”
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