The Eucharistic Marian Youth Day (JEMJ 2025), will be held in Covadonga, next to the Santina, from July 4 to 6, with the theme 'I will give you a new heart'. There will be a relic of the heart of Carlo Acutis, whom the Valencians Nuria and Nacho Leal, presenters of the Day, consider an "example of holiness, of hope, and apostle in love with the Eucharist".
Relic owned by the Bishop of Assisi
Carlo Acutis played a role in the first JEMJ (in 2024 1,600 young people between the ages of 14 and 30 participated), "since we have a part of the exhibition 'Eucharistic Miracles', which he made, in a renewed and updated format. On this occasion, his presence will be even more palpable, because of this important relic, of his pericardium (heart), and because the talk on Saturday morning, July 5, will be on 'The Eucharistic Legacy of Carlo Acutis'", they add.
"This relic is the property of the Bishop of AssisiDomenico Sorrentino, currently Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino. It was given by his mother at the beatification. And the custodian is Friar Marco Gaballo, rector of the Sanctuary of Despojo (Assisi), Sister Beatriz Liaño told Omnes. "It is the guarantee of its authenticity because unfortunately someone is selling fake relics of Carlo's hair. The guarantee of this one is that it is brought by its custodian."
Nuria Leal (19), a nursing student at the University of Valencia, and her brother Nacho (22), who is finishing English Philology, talk about Carlo Acutis and the young people, and tell Omnes that "we have seen many fruits in the young people as a result of the first JEMJ".
How did you learn about the Eucharistic Marian Youth Day?
- (Nuria y Nacho) We are part of a group of young people and lay people who, prompted by the concern aroused in us by the results of a US survey which stated that 70 % of young Catholics did not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, we felt called to do something about it. That is why, together with other young people, lay people and priests, we created the association 'En marcha JEMJ' and we set to work so that young people could have a living and real encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.
NuriaLast year I had the grace of participating as a volunteer in the WYD and it was a real privilege. All the work that goes into something like this is immense, but to work knowing that it is for the good of many souls is very different. You get tired, of course, but you see that the Lord is at work and that winning souls for the Lord is a great effort, but it is worth it.
Nacho: For the first edition of the JEMJ, with a group of young people from various movements and parishes, we formed a choir in which I participated and this year will be the second time we get together to sing during the celebrations. Many are from Valencia, but also from other parts of Spain.
Have you lived the Christian faith from an early age in your family, or in other environments, school, etc.?
- Our family was Catholic by tradition, or as some say, BBC (Baptisms, Weddings and Communions). However, when my little sister started her First Communion catechesis, the Handmaids of the Home of the Mother appeared to help in the parents' catechesis. There we came to know the Home of the Mother and began our journey of conversion to a more lively faith.
You are going to present the next WYD. Do you belong to any movement or ecclesial reality?
- Nacho: That's right, we are the presenters of the 2nd edition of the JEMJI will be in the choir and my sister will be organizing with the volunteers. Covadonga was chosen for two reasons: because it is a Marian sanctuary and because the reconquest of Spain began there. Obviously, this is not a political meeting. When we speak of the reconquest we want to express a desire to win back the hearts of young people in the faith through Jesus the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary, Our Mother, which already began last year.
- Nuria: We both belong to the Home of the Mother movement, my brother as a postulant in the branch of the Servants and I as a member of the Home of the Mother of the Youth 'HMJ'. For Christians, but especially for young people, it is very necessary to live the faith in community, to have the support of other young people who live the same as you, who are also in the struggle and who encourage you when it is hardest for you.
It was beautiful to see last year how young people from so many movements came together, the richness of the Church in so many different charisms.
What is the Eucharist and devotion to the Virgin Mary for you? In the JEMJ they go together.
Nuria: For me, the Eucharist is the meaning of my life. When you discover the greatness of the Eucharist, that it is God himself whom you receive and who gives you the strength to fight, you cannot live indifferently. Your life changes! For me the Eucharist is a necessity, it is an encounter of love and humility, where the Lord comes to dwell in our poor heart to make it new. And that is precisely what we want the young people to find at the WYD. The Virgin Mary for me is my Mother, my Teacher, my Model to follow.
Nacho: I agree with my sister in saying that for me the Eucharist is the meaning of my life. It is the Heart of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ. To adore Him is to return to the Fountain of Living Water. It is a heart-to-heart conversation. Receiving Him with the greatest possible reverence and recollection should be our only concern of the day. To receive God. It is an immense gift. And devotion to Mary is not just a son's love for his Mother. For her, for her yes, the eternal Word was incarnated in her virginal womb. We owe her all that we are. Her yes gave us Life.
Let's talk about Carlo Acutis for a moment.
Nuria: He is a great friend to me. We should not waste our friendship with the saints. They are our friends and they really help us. He gives me a lot of hope and brings me closer to Heaven. He is an example that holiness is not of other times, it is something that we are also called to live now and always. Carlo is an example that we do not need great things, but to live what the Lord asks of us at every moment, in the simplicity of daily life, but yes, in love with him. He was in love with the Eucharist and for me, an example of how to live youth for the Lord.
Nacho: He is an example of hope. A young Catholic saint? Today it seems unthinkable. It is as if there were no more young saints, as if the machine had broken down. But he has given us an actual life testimony of how to become a saint being a normal boy, a true apostle in love with the Eucharist. May the young people attending the World Youth Day and his canonization adopt him as their protector and model for their lives.
Last year many young people received the sacrament of Penance. What would you say to encourage people to receive it?
- Nuria: Last year, the Day was a source of mercy and non-stop confessions. There are some funny anecdotes, like the one of a young man who, after trying to confess the whole meeting and always finding the priests busy and with a huge queue, approached Bishop Jesús Sanz, and ten minutes before the beginning of the Mass he was presiding, he said: "Bishop, can you hear my confession? I have been trying all weekend, but it is impossible! The bishop reacted with a smile and agreed to hear his confession (he was on time for Mass...).
To encourage a young person I would tell him not to be afraid, that the Lord is good and seeks to forgive us and that we return to Him.
- Nacho: "I will return to my Father", that is what the prodigal son thought when, humiliated, he found himself far from home and with his life in disarray. So we need to return to the Father's house, to return to his side. And what better way than confession. To ask God's forgiveness for having hurt him, for having denied him our love. And God always, always, always forgives. We need that forgiveness.
To conclude, a brief assessment after the previous JEMJ.
- (Nuria y Nacho) We have seen many fruits in the young people as a result of the first WYD: some made the resolution to go to daily Mass and continue to do so, others discovered their vocation or received the grace to respond to the Lord's call, many others returned to the faith after some time away... And so many fruits that we will never get to see! It is worth giving this opportunity to the Lord so that we may fall in love with Him again and become generous, dedicated and holy young people.
