July 2026
80 years of IYCS coordination - Freedom at 250 - Slavery's technology - La Rioja martyrs - Synodal assembly in Peru - Cardijn's Educate, Serve, Represent - Cardijn Jubilee and IYCS reunion
Friends
This month, we celebrated America’s 250 years of Independence and the proclamation that all people are created equal and possess inherent, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Against this backdrop, we bring highlights of the 80th anniversary celebrations of IYCS coordination along with detailed texts and reports of the events, a homily on freedom by Fr. Chris Malano and a reflection by Richard Putz dangers of new forms of technology-driven slavery.
Also, we remember Blessed Enrique Angelelli and his companions on the 50th anniversary of their martyrdom in Argentina, share words of wisdom from a recent synodal meeting of lay movements on Peru and consider the unfinished business of Vatican II by Stefan Gigacz.
Special Announcement: Registration is open for the Cardijn Jubilee event to be held in Rome May 1-, 2027.
The Cardijn Associates Team
IYCS celebrates 80th anniversary of international coordination
The International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) celebrated the 80th anniversary of international coordination on June 28, 2026 in Silver Spring, MD with former members, leaders and chaplains from many parts of the world. In 1946, Sally Cassidy and Fr. Louis Putz, CSC from USA were instrumental to the establishment of the International Secretariate. In the links below, we bring you coverage of the formal celebration, the full texts of the inspiring keynote speeches by IYCS Secretary Generals, Manoj Mathew (2003-2007) and Roshan Lobo (2024-2028), an article on the reflection session that was held prior to the celebration and the reflections of Msgr. Bob Vitillo, Catholic Charities USA who also served on the IYCS advisory board.
Honoring our Legacy, Inspiring our Future
We are here to build the future of YCS - Keynote by Roshan Lobo, IYCS Secretary General, 2024-2028.
Youth and young adult formation for Catholic action - Highlights of the reflection session
USA 250: Fr Chris Malano reflects on freedom
What slavery’s technology teaches us today
There is a temptation, when we study history, to place ourselves safely on the correct side of it, writes Richard Pütz. We read about slavery and think: I would never have done that. I would have known better. But history does not offer us that comfort so easily.
The machine and the margin: What slavery’s technology teaches us about today (Cardijn Reflections)
Remembering the martyrs of La Rioja
This year, 2026, the Church of La Rioja commemorates the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of YCW and YCS chaplain Blessed Enrique Angelelli, Carlos de Dios Murias, Gabriel Longueville, and Wenceslao Pedernera, four witnesses of the faith murdered in 1976 during the Argentine military dictatorship, Vatican News reports.
The diocese has declared this year a Diocesan Jubilee Year, under the motto “Easter in La Rioja, joy of the people,” as a time of grateful remembrance, prayer, pilgrimage, and renewal of Christian commitment.
Remembering the martyrs of La Rioja
Peru lay movements meet in synodal assembly
The lay movements of the Archdiocese of Lima, Peru joyfully began their Synodal Assembly with a presentation by Silvia Cáceres, advisor to the Episcopal Commission for Youth and Laity and general secretary of Caritas Lima as well as Pax Romana ICMICA vice-president for Latin America, who reflected on the role of the laity in the life of the Church and their commitment to social reality.
Lima lay movements in synodal assembly (Australian Cardijn Institute)
Serving, educating and representing lay people in the Church
“Educate, serve and represent” was one of Cardijn’s most famous trilogies. It was based on what theologians have labeled the “tria munera,” namely Christ’s “three roles” as prophet, king and priest, in which Christians share by virtue of their baptism.
He often drew on this trilogy to characterise the role of the YCW and young workers in educating, serving and representing their fellow young workers.
Serving, educating and representing lay people in the Church (Synodal Reflections)
Special Announcement
May 1-5, 2027 | Rome, Italy | Cardijn Pilgrimage and Lay Apostolate Jubilee 2027 | Australian Cardijn Institute and partners.
April 30-May 5, 2027 | 4th International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) alumni reunion.
The year 2027 marks a historic convergence of anniversaries that shaped the modern Church’s understanding of the lay vocation. Most notably, it marks the 60th anniversary of the passing of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn—founder of the Young Christian Workers (YCW/JOC) and a foundational voice of Vatican II—and the centenary of Specialised Catholic Action.
To honor this legacy and propel it into the future, the Australian Cardijn Institute and international partners propose a 4-day Pilgrimage, Lecture, and Conference Program in Rome. This event will not merely look backward; it will actively connect Cardijn’s transformative See, Judge, Act methodology to the modern Church’s synodal journey and the ethical frontiers of our time, including the rise of Artificial Intelligence, economic inequality, and global migration.
In conjunction with this event, the International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) will hold its 4th alumni reunion beginning on April 30 and plan to join selected sessions of the ACI-led Cardijn Jubilee. More details will be released as in the upcoming months.
Cardijn Associates USA
Contact
Email: cardijnassociates@gmail.com