LET'S JAAGO | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2023

Intro: The coordinating team shares the Jaago story, from inception through all the preparations that will culminate on 21 October 2023, a grand gathering of Jesus Youths in Bangalore, India.

In October 2022, during a national council meeting, members gathered to discuss and pray, ultimately recognising the need for a national conference that would foster a sense of togetherness. To accomplish this mission and reach the farthest corners of India, they started forming a team under the general coordinator, Praise Kuriakose. Several ministries were established, and on December 24, 2022, looking at the need of the hour and the objectivity of the conference, the name, ‘Jaago,’ was coined. In Hindi, ‘ja’ means go, and ‘jaago’ together signifies

wake up. This name aptly captures the conference's theme: to awaken and reach out. The official launch of Jaago took place during an online meeting of regional coordinators, and its logo was revealed at the 34th Plenary

Assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) Meeting by Cardinal Philip Neri. ‘Jesus Youth is very special,’ he said, ‘they witness Jesus, they bring youth to Jesus.’ His beatitude Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar

Catholic Church were also personally met, and the Jaago poster handed to them. Following this, a nationwide campaign called Jaago Day was initiated with the goal of inviting 15,000 participants from various walks of life, including pre-teens, teens, youth, families, priests, seminarians, religious, and bishops. The conference is scheduled for October 21 to 24, 2023 and

features 12-15 sessions every hour across 15 venues for different groups. These arrangements are inclusive of morning to evening access to Movie Theatre, Confessional Huts, Personal Prayer Corner, and Holy Mass in different languages and rites. Participants will have the flexibility to

choose their sessions, aligning with the concept of ‘schedule your own programme.’ The powerhouse of the conference is the 24x7 intercession. From 7am to 9pm, intercession takes place at Christ campus and continues at Premalaya, Bangalore from 9pm to 7am. This initiative has been continuing since 26 January 2023. The conference witnessed multiple intercession initiatives like Jaago with Mary Ma. Jaago Week, celebrated from May 13 to 20, 2023 was aimed at having zonal-level programmes throughout India to facilitate Jaago registrations. Activities included workshops, community service, small group discussions, Catholic art exhibitions, Rosary walks, cultural celebrations, daily Mass, adoration, and more. It was planned and executed with the help

of zonal coordinators and the regional mobilisation team. The month of May, dedicated to Mary, focused on prayers and asking Mother Mary’s intercession. During Jaago Week, May 13th – the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima served as a National Intercession Day for Jaago. Jaago Yatra was a journey across India with the relic of St John Paul, which was a piece of the cross he held during the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum in 2005. The yatra (journey) approximately covered 26 states, engaging over 350,000 people and reaching 350 parishes, 100 campuses, schools, and other institutions. June was celebrated as a special month of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, known as O Holy Dil (heart), with various prayer initiatives held across India. July's theme being ‘The Precious Blood of Jesus,’ JYs across India were encouraged to donate blood. Various blood donation camps were also set up in different parts of India as an intercession offering for Jaago with the tagline #My Blood for My Conference. The month of August was themed ‘Jaago with the Morning Star,’ encouraging the recitation of the Holy Rosary across India for the conference. A lot of people shared their testimonials of praying the Holy Rosary. The theme for September is ‘Reach Out.’ It aligns with the second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation of Mother Mary to St Elizabeth, coincides with the World Youth Day 2023 theme in Lisbon, and also matches well with the theme of Jaago: Awake and Reach Out. The theme song of the conference was composed by Acts of the Apostles and it has garnered almost 40,000 views on social media. There were also multiple social media challenges taken up by the youth like the Jaago hookstep

challenge, #jaagoglasses filter challenge, etc. These also included Jaago

Bytes, which had individuals ranging from the team members to students across colleges and working professionals sharing what Jaago means to them. The Jaago general team comprises 18 members overseeing 80+ ministries. Registrations concluded on August 15th, with 20-25 bishops, 250 priests, 600 religious, 250 seminarians, 9,000 youngsters, 1500 families, and 1,200

preteens confirming their attendance, totaling 16,150 registrations. Over the past six months, numerous intercession initiatives have been carried out in India. These include formation of intercession teams in different regions and zones, 24x7 intercession in Bangalore and Delhi,

night vigils, 40-hour adoration, thousands of Rosaries, and Holy Mass offerings. Bangalore also organised an Intercession Charism retreat by Br. Thomas Paul with an intention to promote Jaago intercession. An app was developed for Jaago, enabling participants to schedule their

own sessions at the conference. The app offers many features like meal sharing (Dil Se), personal prayer reminders, intercession tracking, goodies store, and access to Jaago videos from Jaago Day to Jaago Yatra, providing a comprehensive Jaago experience. As we prepare for the great get-together, we pray for an outpouring of grace over each and every participant, that these days become an unforgettable spiritual experience of rejuvenation and the call to

evangelise.

Team Jaago