Scottish Catholic Observer

The Catholic community united on Saturday behind an inspiring public witness of Faith by the young people of Scotland. The inaugural Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award Ceremony at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow was the spectacular culmination of a great idea to keep the spirit of the 2010 Papal visit alive and thousands of hours of voluntary work by young people from across Scotland.

The unique Faith programme, organised by the Scottish Catholic Education Service backed by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, unites schools, parishes and communities and has been embraced by the young people of Scotland and the educational establishment, winning Vatican approval in its first year and drawing comparisons with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

With the encouraging uptake of the programme, supported by the Knights of St Columba, when it came to presenting the awards the ceremony had to match the efforts of the students taking part. While many said the experience of helping others and growing in their Faith was reward enough for taking part, 450 students were deemed worthy of having that work recognised. And those gathered on Saturday were not disappointed.

Papal message

Pope Benedict XVI sent his ‘heartfelt greetings to all those taking part’ in the Caritas Award. In a letter read to the audience at the award ceremony by Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the Holy Father asked the 450 student winners this year to ‘persevere on the path of Faith.’

The message, sent by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State at the Vatican, states: “The Holy Father was pleased to be informed of the Caritas Award ceremony taking place on Saturday June 2, 2012 at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, and he sends his heartfelt greetings to all those taking part.

“He appreciates the dedication and commitment shown by the 450 young people who are receiving the award, and he gives thanks to God for their many gifts and for the good works they have accomplished.

“His Holiness encourages them to persevere along the path of Faith throughout their lives, seeking always to know and love God, and to make Him known, in this way shining the light of truth upon the world, the truth that sets us free (cf. John 8:32).

“Commending all the young people and their families to the intercession of St Andrew and St Margaret of Scotland, His Holiness cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing.”

The sentiment was echoed by Cardinal O’Brien who expressed the heartfelt wish that the members of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland hope that the ‘Caritas Awards will flourish… so that it can help young people become saints of the 21st century.’

“After the Holy Father’s visit to Scotland in September 2010, my brother bishops and I were keen to hold onto the important messages which Pope Benedict XVI delivered over four days,” Cardinal O’Brien said. “In my farewell address to the Holy Father I said: ‘From you first encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est your words have always been given detailed attention not only by the Catholic Faithful but by people of all faiths and none.’

“I believe the Caritas Award offers great hope, not only for the Church but for Scotland more generally.”

These messages was heard by close to 300 people, including the award recipients, their families, teachers, parish priests and also by distinguished guests on the day, many who later took part in the medal presentations, including Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell, president of the Catholic Education Commission, Mgr Paul Conroy and Mgr Ken McCaffery, Supreme Knight of the Knights of St Columba Ron Lynch, Alex Neil,  Housing and Communities Minister (representing First Minister Alex Salmond), Professor Tom Devine, Isabelle Boyd, head of the Catholic Headteachers Association of Scotland (CHAS) and Professor Robert Davis, head of Glasgow University’s school of education.

Posthumous awards

As students registered and collected their award certificates prior to the medal ceremony and were entertained in the foyer, the spirit of thinking of others—Caritas or love in its extraordinary form—continued for the Scottish secondary students. Their certificates stated: “The Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award recognises the efforts of young people, through Faith-inspired learning, witness and reflection, to demonstrate that Caritas—God’s love—can be ‘an extraordinary force in life.’”

This was the students’ moment to shine and celebrate, for many their last day in school uniform before summer and then college or university, but they said the award they were truly waiting for was for members of their peer group who had died, two young men whom Minister Neil referred to by name.

The parents of the late Reamonn Gormley, who was the victim of a fatal stabbing in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, last February, were given a posthumous Caritas Award in his honour by Cardinal O’Brien and Bishop Devine. While Reamonn’s death pre-dated the programme,  he was called ‘the embodiment of a saint of the 21st century’ during the ceremony.

“In his short life, he was a quiet, inspirational force within the school and indeed, within his local and wider community,” his former headteacher Eddie Morrison, of John Ogilvie High School, Hamilton, told the SCO. “The plaque of dedication in our school simply reads: ‘In the end, a person is only known by the impact they have on others.’ This is Reamonn’s legacy and the pupils and staff of John Ogilvie High school are proud to walk in his footsteps.”

Unlike Reamonn, the late Joseph Wilson did start the Caritas Award programme. The award audience were told he ‘lived his Faith in everything he did.’ The student from Taylor High, School, New Stevenston, Motherwell, was nominated by his peers to take part in the programme and, following his unexpected death last December organisers decided to give his family the award medal, which was collected on Saturday by his father to resounding applause.

Ceremony

The overall upbeat tone of the awards ceremony got a helping hand from the presence of celebrities of today and future stars. The afternoon was ably hosted by husband and wife David and Maura Currie of BBC Scotland but they had a hard act to follow after comedian Des Clarke gave a roasting to students and clergy alike at the beginning of the afternoon. He had the young people in the palm of his hand from the moment he walked on stage, opening with tales of his escapades as a primary pupil at St John’s Barrhead, as an altar boy and teasing the clergy with quips such as ‘I do not know what it is like to deliver a sermon but, unlike you guys I know when to get off.’

Video testimonies from students involved in the Caritas programme were also broadcast on the main screen on the stage before and in between medal awards. The students gave candid, witty and heartfelt accounts of what taking part in the Caritas programme involved, what it taught them, what it meant to them and why they would recommend it to future sixth-year students.

One sixth-year boy who worked with older people in his local community spoke of the pride of those whose lives he touched.

“One woman said to me ‘It is young people like you who keep the Church alive.’”

Another sixth-year’s heartfelt account of being asked by his priest to carry the oils used in anointing the sick was equally moving.

“One of the women was very sick, but after she was anointed she seemed at peace,” he said. “I think I saw God in that moment.”

A sixth-year girl admitted that, as a typical teenager, she had questioned her Faith but she found that the Caritas Award strengthened her belief and participation in the Church.

Another girl recalled a gathering point discussion in the programme on footsteps, and spoke of how that discussion, accompanied by Leona Lewis’ version of Footprints In The Sand, made her finally understand the primary school parable that God carries us (for more testimonies, see sidebar right).

The video testimonies concluded with students from Taylor High School recommending the programme to the new intake of sixth-year students this year, something that impacted the fifth-year students from St Margaret’s High School in Airdrie who were at the award ceremony.

Young stars on stage on the day, in addition to the award recipients themselves, included Inverclyde Junior Choir who performed twice and led the closing hymn.

Reactions

Supreme Knight of the Knights of St Columba, Ron Lynch, lavished praise on the award winners describing them as ‘ambassadors for their Faith.’

“To see so many young people who had been positively influenced and encouraged to help others by their involvement in the Caritas Award gives us hope for the future,” Mr Lynch said. “The young people themselves have become ambassadors for their Faith and their good works should encourage us all to reflect on what it really means to be a Christian.

“Our order is committed to helping support young people to continue on their journey of Faith, and we are proud to have supported the inaugural Caritas Award. I’d like to congratulate Cardinal O’Brien, the Scottish Bishops’ Conference and Michael McGrath and his team for having the courage and initiative to introduce something that so clearly helps our young people to grow in Faith and love.”

Stephen Callaghan of the Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project (AGAP) was delighted to see Robert Wilson, one of the AGAP’s youngest actors, collect his award.

“I think the Caritas Award is a fantastic sign of unity and a great witness to just how Catholic the Catholic community is,” Mr Callaghan told the SCO. “There are many different ways to be Catholic… and this event will not only break down generational barriers, it will also encourage various agencies within the Church to work together and see that we are working for the same Kingdom in the way that Pope Benedict XVI envisions it.”

Stephen Campbell, headteacher at St Kentigern’s Academy, Blackburn, has high hopes that the award will go from strength to strength.

“This was a brand new venture for all of our schools,” he said. “It was a ‘try it and see’ situation this year but the students have stuck in and done well, carrying out their volunteering in the school and in the parishes. Today is marvellous and I think the students will remember this as something quite special. What we are hoping is that they will now talk to the younger pupils and inspire them to take part in the years to come.”

It was left to Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service who masterminded the award programme, to offer thanks to those who supported and toiled for the programme, including Barbara Campbell. In the final vote of thanks, he chose very appropriate words to end on: “Thank God.”

—     To support, sponsor or become a patron of the Caritas Award, contact the Scottish Catholic Education Service on 0141 241 4727 or e-mail [email protected]

Caritas Award Prayer

Loving Father, almighty God, you so loved the world that you sent your Son Jesus so that we might live through Him.

Help us respond to your love.

Grant us understanding of the loving ways of Jesus.

Teach us to see others with His eyes and, through your Holy Spirit, guide us in our efforts to show love in our daily actions.

Living Lord, you are love.

Help us, whom you made in your image, to practise love in loving communion with others.

We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.