More than 280 young people from six JAR centers took part in the 14th National Encounter of Augustinian Recollect Youth in Quetzaltenango, under the motto “Lit by the truth and sent to love.”
Guatemala brings together more than 280 young people at the 14th National JAR Encounter
More than 280 young people from six Augustinian Recollect Youth (JAR) centers in Guatemala gathered on August 1 and 2 in Quetzaltenango to celebrate the 14th National Encounter, an experience of fraternity, formation, and missionary sending inspired by the motto “Lit by the truth and sent to love.”
The Holy Family parish in Quetzaltenango hosted this fourteenth edition of the National Encounter of Augustinian Recollect Youth, which brought together young people from different parts of the country with the desire to strengthen bonds of fraternity and renew their commitment to the Augustinian Recollect charism.
Delegations took part from the San Nicolás de Tolentino Parish (Mixco), the Santa María Goretti Parish (Guatemala City), the Agustiniano School, the San Judas Tadeo Educational Center, the Blessed Encarnación Rosal Parish (San Miguel Petapa), the San Miguel Arcángel Parish (Totonicapán), and the host community in Quetzaltenango.
The encounter was accompanied by Friar Pedro Marte, OAR, Friar Daniel Racancoj, OAR, and Sister Irma Bulux, MAR, who encouraged the young people throughout a weekend especially anticipated by the country’s JAR communities.
Lit by the truth and sent to love
Under the motto “Lit by the truth and sent to love”, in tune with the Missionary Year being lived by the Augustinian Recollect Family, participants reflected on the call to be missionary disciples in today’s world.
Throughout the different activities, the young people went deeper into the idea that mission does not seek to settle the Christian into comfort, but to stir their heart to go out to meet others, share the proclamation of the Gospel, and respond to the different realities society is experiencing with the witness of a consistent life.
There was also a space dedicated to digital evangelization, where they reflected on the responsible use of social media and new technologies. Participants discovered that the digital environment can become a true place of mission, from which to proclaim Christ with creativity, authenticity, and hope.
A weekend of prayer, joy, and fraternity
The program combined moments of spirituality, formation, and community life. Highlights included Eucharistic adoration, a lively dance sleepover, an Augustinian carousel to go deeper into JAR formation tools—such as the distinctive notes, the missionary inspirations of saints and people identified with the charism, and the JAR Decalogue—as well as the closing and sending Eucharist, which put the finishing touch on the encounter.
During the celebration, it was also enthusiastically announced that in 2027 it will be fifteen years since the National JAR Encounters began in Guatemala, a story marked by friendship, communion, and growth in faith for hundreds of young people who have found in the Augustinian Recollect charism a way to follow Christ and proclaim the Gospel.
The 14th National Encounter once again showed that Augustinian Recollect Youth continues to be a privileged space to form missionary disciples, strengthen charism identity, and renew young people’s commitment to the mission of the Church.
