Students from Benedictine schools across the world gathered in Rome for the International Benedictine Young Congress (IBYC) 2025. A total of 50 students and 20 accompanying staff members from 7 countries stayed at Collegio Sant'Anselmo, the headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation, from the 20th-25th of September. The theme of the congress was "Benedictine Pilgrims of Hope"; participants attended a Papal Audience and crossed the Holy Door as part the Jubilee of Hope celebrations. Owain Daley, who coordinated the Deaneries, shares his experience with us:
The IBYC this year in Rome was a packed 4-day programme. We came together to pray as a community, foster friendship and explore the Benedictine tradition within which we all live. Key to this was praying the Divine Office together and moments of group Lectio Divina. Each liturgy was assigned to a particular region, who were responsible for providing the music and leading the liturgy. For Lectio Divina we met in our four Deanery groups and encountered Christ together in the Gospel passage specially selected for each day. We also ate together, along with the community at Sant'Anselmo in the Monastic refectory. It was particularly special to meet in Rome during this Jubilee year. We were not only partaking in a congress, but also journeying together as Benedictine Pilgrims of Hope.
Day one had the theme ‘Expressions of Hope’ and the focus was on sharing our Benedictine stories. Each region shared about their schools and Benedictine education in their part of the world. It was very interesting to see the range of situations in which Benedictine education is present and the different forms it takes. But more than this it was also very moving to see how, despite very different conditions, there is a common spirit throughout the schools, with prayer and community fundamental to all.
Day two had the theme ‘Footsteps of Hope’, and very aptly so! We embarked on a walking tour of the Benedictine sites in Rome. We visited together the church of St. Benedict in Piscinula, on the site of St. Benedict’s student home. Here we had the opportunity for a moment of personal prayer at St. Benedict’s cell. We also visited the church of Santa Cecelia, home to a community of Benedictine nuns, and were treated to a very engaging tour by one of the sisters there. We explored the crypt, once a Roman villa, and the beautiful frescos in the choir loft. We also visited Santa Maria in Trestevare and San Crisogano. In the afternoon we travelled (again on foot) to St. Paul Outside the Walls, which has been cared for by the Benedictine Order for hundreds of years. We were welcomed by Fr. Ludivico, the Novice Master of the community, and given an introduction to the church by Fr. Edmund Power, a former abbot.
On the third day of our congress we did something a little different. The day's theme was ‘Sanctuary of Hope’, and we travelled out of Rome to Subiaco. It was here that St. Benedict lived as a hermit for 3 years after leaving Rome and it was from here that he founded his first monasteries. We were were given tours both of the Monastery of St. Scholastica and of Sacro Speco, built on the site of St. Benedict’s cave. It was a very special place to visit, and the opportunity to pray together in the cave of St. Benedict was very powerful. In the afternoon we met in our Deanery groups for a moment of Lectio Divina and sharing. We finished our time at Subiaco by celebrating Mass in the Abbey Church of St. Scholastica. This was a wonderful way to come together and complete a very important day in our programme. For me this day was a personal highlight. It was a deep personal spiritual experience to visit St Benedict’s cave and to spend some time their with our Lord. Being away from the busyness of Rome and in relative countryside I felt a deep sense of peace, which was much needed. I also had a very touching experience with my Deanery group, listening to them share about how God had spoken to them in Lectio and about their highlights of the congress so far. Both students and staff shared openly, and sometimes emotionally, about the ways in which they had experienced faith and friendship. To listen to these testimonies was a true privilege.
Day 4, titled ‘Thresholds of Hope’, was our final day in Rome. To mark the end of our Pilgrimage we travelled to the Vatican where, after attending the Papal Audience, we passed through the Holy Door into St. Peter’s Basilica. In some ways this marked the end of a journey, but it also represented the beginning of a new one. Having come together over the last three days and grown together, crossing the door was something of a commissioning. It called us to recognise the gift of hope we had discovered over the past days and to bring it back home with us, to our different communities. Before returning to Sant'Anselmo we visited Santa Maria Majore and the tomb of Pope Francis, as well as the Coliseum and Santa Francesca Romana. In the evening, we came together for Mass with Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder, who preached to us about the importance of ‘dwelling with one’s self’, referring to the life of the young St. Benedict at Subiaco. This was followed by a community celebration for which each country had prepared something of their culture to perform for us. We had a joyful evening of singing, dancing and poetry.
Overall, the congress was a busy time and we had so many amazing opportunities and experiences. There was plenty of hard work behind this. A big thank you is due to Gabrielle Sinclair, IBYC delegate for Australia, who lead the steering committee and worked so hard to shape the programme and plan the various activities, and Jim Duffy, ICBE treasurer and another key member of the steering committee. As well as this, a very special thanks is due to Br. Joseph Benedict Donleavy of Ampleforth Abbey and Santiago Garces. Both residents of Sant'Anselmo, they took on the planning and execution of all the practical elements, which amounted to an awful lot of hard work. They also served as our hosts and guides for the congress, leading us around Rome and welcoming us to Sant'Anselmo. They did an amazing job, and did so in truly Benedictine Spirit, always kind, patient and humble. Ultimately, we have them to thank for making the plans for this congress a reality.
However, as wonderful as the programme was, the thing which for me was most special about the IBYC was something that no amount of precision planning could guarantee, and this was the way in which the students came together as a community of friends. It was remarkable to see how willing they were to get to know each other, to share about themselves and to make friends. Observing the group at the end of the conference, it seemed they could all have been at the same school together for years, and yet it had only been a few days. We presented them each with a copy of the Rule of St. Benedict as a souvenir, and it was a joy to see the students asking one another to sign and write messages in each others' Rules. As we said our goodbyes, hope was certainly not in short supply.