Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP
With seven months to go, online registration officially opened this morning for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney from 7-9 December 2017.
Among the first to register were a number of the Bishops of Australia while gathered in Sydney for their biannual Plenary Meeting.
The Festival registration process can be completed on mobile or tablet devices. Alternatively, groups and individuals can register online at, www.acyf.org.au.
Groups are encouraged to register early with an additional incentive of a complimentary registration per organisation, for all groups of more than ten, that register before 31 May 2017.
Early bird registration closes on 18 August 2017. Individuals over 18 years can register as part of a local group or directly as an individual participant. All aged under 18 years must register as part of a group.
The Festival is expected to be the largest gathering of Catholic young people in Australia since World Youth Day 2008. It aims to draw more than 15,000 young people from every State and Territory to explore, deepen and celebrate their Catholic faith on local soil. Organisers are pulling out all stops to ensure the Festival will bring alive a rich variety of speakers, entertainers, workshops and formation opportunities for our young people.
The three-day event is an initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, hosted in partnership with the Archdiocese of Sydney. The official theme of the Festival is, Open new horizons for spreading joy: Young people, faith and vocational discernment. The gathering will be hosted at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush with the final Mass taking place at the Domain within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
While registering online for the Festival, Archbishop Fisher said, ‘The Festival will be a national expression and joyful celebration of the young Church in Australia. I encourage young people across Australia to go online and register with a local group today or visit the Festival website to find out about other opportunities and the pre-festival competitions’.
‘If you are between Year 9 and 30 years, the Festival is for you,’ he added.
Archbishop Fisher joined his fellow bishops registering online, www.youtube.com/bishopsregister
Festival organisers are currently seeking entries for a film, song and art Competition with finalists showcased at the event in December. The winning song will become the official theme song for the three-day Festival. For further information about the Festival, visit www.acyf.org.au.