On the occasion of the Jubilee of 2025, Pope Francis invited the entire Catholic Church to make a pilgrimage to Rome and celebrate this time of grace. He extended a special invitation to young people, encouraging them to cross the Holy Door of St. Peter’s during the Jubilee of Youth.
Accepting this invitation, and contemplating the profound spiritual meaning of passing through the Holy Door – a gesture that reconciles, renews and opens us to encounter – a question arose in us: if the great universal Catholic Family had its holy doors, what were ours as a Sa-Fa Family? What doors are we called to cross in order to grow in communion, mission and Nazarene charism?
With this question as a starting point, the Second Sa-Fa Youth Meeting was born, taking as its reference point the meeting held in Sigüenza in the summer of 2023. On this occasion, Villa Brea (Turin) welcomed young people from our communities in Brazil, Italy, Spain and Uruguay, united by the desire to live an experience of faith, fraternity and mission.
On the first day, we crossed the door of Belleydoux, the place where Brother Gabriel was born and grew up; where he had his first dreams, intuitions and callings; and where he understood that he had to orient his life towards the smallest and most marginalised. Inspired by this experience, we young people mixed together by nationality, forming groups to get to know each other and share the expectations with which we had arrived, with a view to discovering the different realities of our family: so diverse, yet united by the same charism.
In the afternoon, we learned songs from the different Sa-Fa communities and carried out a solidarity activity in support of the project in Kupang (Indonesia), which consisted of painting T-shirts and collecting school supplies. The day ended with a moment of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the altar, accompanied by the statue of the Virgin Mary that Brother Gabriel himself had chosen in his time, and which is currently kept in the gardens of the house in Villa Brea.
He understood that the Holy Family should be the model for his project, becoming the centre around which everything should revolve. To make the founder’s intuition our own, we undertook a pilgrimage to the Alps, to the Aosta Valley, with the aim of discovering that any model of family that has love at its centre is, in essence, a home in Nazareth. We walked from Lake Brusson to the Brothers’ Alpine House in Challand-Saint-Anselme, sharing the journey as a group and as a family. There, with the mountains of the Alps as witnesses, we celebrated the Eucharist together.
On the third day, we passed through the gate of Belley, the place where Brother Gabriel’s dream became God’s work, giving rise to a living community, a community of
Brothers in mission. We made this truth our own by celebrating, as a youth community, the Eucharist of sending forth for the Youth Jubilee in Turin Cathedral.
After an afternoon filled with singing, planning what we would experience in the following days, and
leaving the house in Villa Brea spotless, that same evening we set off by bus for the Eternal City.
On the fourth day, already in Rome, we were welcomed by the community of the Regina Pacis Parish, which generously opened its doors to us. There, we reflected on the true meaning of our presence in the city and on the steps we needed to take to reach the Jubilee.
With this motivation, we headed to the Circus Maximus to recognise ourselves as sinners and be reconciled with the Father: the first indispensable condition for obtaining plenary indulgence. Later, we walked through the streets of Rome – invaded by thousands of young Christians from all over the world – until we gathered, each country with its fellow citizens, to celebrate the Eucharist together.
The fifth day began very early. Ready to continue with the requirements of the Jubilee, we set out to fulfil the second condition: to pass through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s. To prepare ourselves interiorly to live this significant moment, we made a Way of the Cross from Piazza Pia to Piazza degli Apostoli, which we travelled singing and praying, all nationalities united in the same spirit. Once inside the Basilica, we fulfilled the third and final requirement, praying for the intentions of Pope Leo before the tomb of the Apostle Saint Peter. Thus, having completed the three requirements of the Jubilee journey, the Sa-Fa Family gained the Jubilee.
That same afternoon, we set out on our pilgrimage to Tor Vergata to join the entire Catholic Church. It was a demanding journey, and the heat took its toll, but God, who does not allow us to be tested beyond our strength (cf. 1 Cor 10:13), had prepared a clearing for us to rest, like the promised land (cf. Ex 33:1). During the Vigil, adoring the Blessed Sacrament, we felt ourselves to be a living part of this great universal Family, in the real presence of Jesus Christ.
On the morning of the sixth day, still in Tor Vergata, we celebrated the Eucharist as an ecclesial community: that Bread which is broken, distributed and shared. In his homily, Pope Leo urged young people to aspire to greatness, to holiness, wherever they may be, reminding them that they should not settle for less. With this invitation, our meeting as a Family came to an end, and each country set off to return to its place of origin. We do not know if we will see each other again in the near future, but what is certain is that, at some sunset or in some moment of harmony, we will meet again.
Thank you, Lord, in your Person as Father, for welcoming and accompanying us; in your Person as Son, for making yourself present in every encounter and shared moment; and in your Person as Spirit, for guiding and strengthening us, making every moment a memory to cherish.
Thank you, Lord, for your Holy Family of Nazareth, on whom we base our desire to also be saints, following in their footsteps of humility, simplicity and fidelity.
Thank you, Lord, for the moments we have lived, for the experiences we have shared, for the reunions and new discoveries. Thank you for your presence in each member of this great Sa-Fa Family, making us feel like true brothers and sisters living in Nazareth.
Thank you, Lord, for Brother Mauro, Brother Marco, Brother Diego, Brother Nando, Brother Javier, Brother Jesús, Brother Rupe, Brother Fabián and Brother Ernesto. Brothers of the Holy Family who accepted with simplicity and commitment the invitation to participate in this experience and who, with their presence, have offered a living testimony of the Congregation before all the laity, strengthening the spirit of fraternity and mission that we have shared during these days.
Finally, thank you, Lord, for Brother Gabriel, who never stopped dreaming until he saw his dreams come true. Without a doubt, he is rejoicing in heaven to see that his project continues to enlighten so many people who decide to unite in his name and follow his way of life: working, praying, loving… until peace is achieved.
