Bishop Siphiwo Paul Vanqa has encouraged young people to return to the Lord as “our God is the God of second chances.”

In his address to hundreds of youths and young adults from Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa gathered in Tshitanini, Tazeen Diocese for the second annual Blessed Daswa pilgrimage, Bishop Vanqa said “During the season of Lent we learn and we hear about one thing. That our God is the God of second chances.”

“That our God is the God of the second opportunity, that our God allows us to come back to him… because our God always forgives,” he added.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Liaison Bishop for Youth and Young Adults went on to say, “It takes courage to come back to the Lord,” and that the Lord “will not shut the door” but “will always receive you.”

Bishop Vanqa commended the youth for their devotion to Blessed Benedict Daswa as the second annual youth and young adults pilgrimage brought together over one thousand pilgrims.

He said, “Last year we were far less than this, but because this year we came in droves to come and pray, God will therefore bless each one of us and bless the dioceses we come from and bless even the clusters we come from…this is the moment for you and I to give our time to God.”

During the offertory procession, pilgrims offered sanitary pads to help keep a girl child in school. The 24-25 Blessed Benedict Daswa inter-diocesan pilgrimage under the theme “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” John 4:14, was also an opportunity for young people to learn more about the scourge of human trafficking. The outgoing coordinator of the SACBC Counter Trafficking in Persons Office (CTIP) Sr Melannie O’Connor highlighted modern-day slavery and the role of technology in human trafficking.

For some of the pilgrims, the Blessed Benedict Daswa Youth and Young Adults Pilgrimage was spiritually uplifting.