150 Hope Filled Young Adults gather to celebrate faith in North Cathedral

12 May 2025

Connect 6 Attendees at the Cathedral of St. Mary & St. Anne, Cork

Last Saturday a large crowd of young adults gathered in Cork for CONNECT6 at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne

The theme of the event was "hope does not disappoint." This is the sixth CONNECT event that the Diocese of Cork and Ross has organised to support and bring together young adults from across the Diocese.
Sr Mary Grace SV, originally from Australia, travelled from the USA with three other Sisters of Life to speak about how Christian Hope does not disappoint.

Sr Mary Grace encouraged the young adults to trust that God is so much more invested in our own happiness than we are. "Jesus is the fulfilment of every human heart... and what he is about is you becoming you," she continued.

She shared her own experience of choosing to respond to a vocation to religious life over her dream of being an Australian Olympian, and how her religious vocation and prayer life has helped her to remain hopeful.

The event coincided with Vocations Sunday and Bishop Fintan Gavin in his homily encouraged young people to think about the call to priesthood and religious life particularly here in our own diocese.

In a dynamic Q and A the young people spoke of the struggles of being a young person of faith today, and of the hope and support that such events give them in encouraging them in their faith.

The day also involved Mass, discussion, adoration, confessions, an informal singsong, and pizza. The energy was palpable with young people asking for more such events and gatherings.

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