The Pope John Paul II Award is dedicated to the memory of the late Pope John Paul II whose love of young people was so profound. The Award was launched by the Papal Nuncio to Ireland His Excellency Most Rev Dr Giuseppe Lazzarotto on 7th November 2006 in the Diocese of Derry, Ireland.
If you are aged between 16 and 18 and living or going to school in participating Dioceses, the Pope John Paul II Award will enable you to become more actively involved in the life of your parish and community. Religion is not just for learning, nor a list of rules designed to stop you doing what you want. Religion is for living and through taking an active part in your church and community you will experience the contentment and fulfilment that comes from serving others, especially those in great need
The Clogher don Oige, John Paul II Award Ceremony took place on Thursday the 14th of April in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. With over 500 people in attendance and some 150 young people from across the Diocese receiving the award, it was one of the biggest events in the Diocese in recent times. The Pope John Paul II Award is a national award for young people across the island of Ireland. St. Michael’s pupils in Years 13 & 14 are involved in the award scheme. Young people commit to working for both the parish and the community on a number of different projects. The award, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbanus is non-competitive, flexible and voluntary and requires an ongoing commitment over the course of the year. 22 of the St. Michael’s sixth form pupils received the award from the Bishop of Clogher, Dr. Liam MacDaid. James Duffy and Rory Porteous gave us a flavour of their work over the last year leading to being awarded the Pope John Paul II gold medal and certificate;
James Duffy
"As part of my Pope John Paul II award I carried out a number of different activities in the parish such as collecting at Mass and helping out at Easter in the Church. We also set up a children’s liturgy group for the young people of the parish. I am really into the GAA and for the wider community activities I trained the underage GAA team at St. Molaise club. I was also involved in a lot of charity work; especially for Concern. I found it to be a very enjoyable experience and especially working with the young people."
Rory Porteous
"I was already quite active in my community and the local Church so I was able to achieve my Gold, Pope John Paul II award, without much change to my normal routine. When I needed to complete the activities for the Gold award; the school, local parish and community organisations were very welcoming. They were very glad of my help on a number of projects."
The award continues to grow and St. Michael’s Parish is proud to be part of it.
Related links:
www.thepopejohnpauliiaward.com/