{"id":1029409,"date":"2026-01-21T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"trans-26746-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/trans-26746-1\/","title":{"rendered":"India \u2013 Fire, Word, and Witness: ZOE Youth Bible Convention Ignites Faith at Salesian Centenary in Kolkata"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rooted in Jesus\u2019 promise, <em>\u201cI have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance\u201d<\/em> (Jn 10:10), the convention drew participants from schools, parishes, and formation houses across Central and South Bengal. Through vibrant worship, solemn liturgies, and prolonged Eucharistic adoration, the gathering addressed key challenges facing today\u2019s youth\u2014identity, pressure, and spiritual disorientation\u2014by fostering a renewed encounter with the Word of God.<\/p>\n<p>The convention opened with the <strong>enthronement of the Bible<\/strong> and the lighting of the lamp, framing the event as a \u201cfestival of God\u2019s Word.\u201d Church leaders from various congregations participated, highlighting its broad ecclesial character. The <strong>Mass of the Holy Spirit<\/strong>, presided over by <strong>Fr Dominic Gomes<\/strong>, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, set a reflective tone. In a homily attuned to Gen Z realities, he urged young people to listen for the <strong>voice of the Good Shepherd<\/strong> amid the world\u2019s noise, emphasizing Christ\u2019s power to heal both visible and hidden wounds.<\/p>\n<p>Biblical catechesis formed the backbone of the program through sessions led by <strong>Fr Daniel Poovannathil<\/strong>, who explored the Gospel of John through the theme of <strong>Logos\u2014Christ as the meaning of human existence<\/strong>. Drawing from Scripture and personal testimony, he challenged participants to reclaim their identity as children of God, offering practical tools for engaging the Bible in daily life.<\/p>\n<p>Day Two focused on <strong>covenant and sacramental grace<\/strong>. A Eucharistic celebration centered on the call of Levi highlighted repentance and reconciliation. A powerful testimony followed from <strong>Christina (Mohini Mahalakshmi)<\/strong>, a former Tamil film actress, who shared her journey from fame and inner turmoil to baptism in the Catholic Church, underlining the healing power of prayer, the Rosary, and faith in the <strong>Real Presence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The convention concluded on <strong>January 18<\/strong> with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by <strong>Fr Joseph Pauria, Provincial<\/strong>, followed by an extended period of <strong>Eucharistic adoration<\/strong>. Many participants described the closing prayer as a personal \u201cPentecost,\u201d marked by deep consolation, spontaneous praise, and a renewed awareness of the Holy Spirit\u2019s action.<\/p>\n<p>As participants returned to their communities, the message was clear: <strong>ZOE 2026<\/strong> was not an isolated event but a <strong>launchpad for mission<\/strong>. Within the Salesian centenary framework, it reaffirmed a call for young people to move from encounter to witness\u2014carrying <strong>Scripture, sacrament, and lived faith<\/strong> into the Church and society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rooted in Jesus\u2019 promise, \u201cI have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance\u201d (Jn 10:10), the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2026746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1029409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-asia","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1029409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1029409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1029409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infoans.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1029409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}