The G Y M Opens in Holliston, MA

Dec. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Holliston, MA: On November 27, 2011 the GYM, (Global Youth Mission resource), a new young adult and youth outreach ministry, was opened by the missionary community of St. Francis Xavier in the USA at our Fatima Shrine complex here. The office is staffed by Fr. Rocco Puopolo, SX and Fr. Adolph Menendez, SX.

The objectives of The GYM are 1) to help the young adults and youth recognize the fact that they are not just members of the Catholic Church but that they themselves are the Church and 2) to assist them in understanding that the Church is not only local but global and that they are an important part of both, generating genuine links of solidarity.
The GYM will offer young adults and youth information through conferences, workshops and other speaking engagements presenting the work of the Church in Africa, Asia, Latin America by people who have years of personal experience in these areas.

In addition, prayer experiences, such as Eucharistic Celebrations, retreats, Days of Reflection, interreligious dialogue sessions, pilgrimages and more will connect one’s faith to the wider faith community which grounds our call to Mission ad gentes. (“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...” Mt 28:19 Christ’s instruction to the apostles was a great call to those who became the first bishops and the first missionaries of the Church. They were told to go ad gentes—that is, “to the nations,” to those who did not know Christ—and to proclaim the Gospel…United States Conference of Catholic Bishops June 2005) Direct and personal immersion experiences that reflect our witness of mission beyond our faith and cultures, will be offered here in the USA and overseas. The first of these is planned for Sierra Leone, West Africa in the fall of 2012.

BIOS: Fr. Adolph Menendez has been a member of the Newman staff at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL these last four years and prior to that was a teacher and part of the Newman Center’s staff at Eastern Illinois University. He brings to this ministry his thirty years of missionary experience in Japan and then in Mexico where he taught at high school and graduate level, and served as chaplain and guide for young adults.
Fr. Rocco Puopolo spent twelve years as a missionary in Sierra Leone, West Africa serving in administration of the local primary schools, teaching high school and university chaplaincy and was the National Youth Chaplain for the Young Christian Students and CYO. Upon his return to the US he served as rector for our theology students and most recently as the Executive Director of the African Faith and Justice Network, a Washington DC based advocacy and education NGO focused on Africa.



Eight hundred Xaverian missionaries currently serve in: Bangladesh, Burundi, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, Columbia, Dem. Republic of Congo, Great Britain, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA.

Mission: “We share the Love of Christ with people across different faiths and cultures, by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus in new Christian churches. Inspired by St. Francis Xavier and Blessed Guido M. Conforti, we are a Catholic religious community committed to serving God in the poor.”

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The St. Francis Xavier Foreign Mission Society, Inc, known as the Xaverian Missionaries, is a Roman Catholic religious community serving the poor in 18 countries worldwide.