On 4th March, a bright and sunny day, the Vocation Centre organised an open activity for adolescents, in order to see more in depth who really Saint Francis is and where we Franciscans live.

At 10 in the morning more than 80 young teenagers gathered in the Franciscan church in Rabat. They where greeted by the friars, by the Promoter of Vocations and the core group of the vocations centre. We began with a prayer of St. Francis taken from the Franciscan Sources. The life of Saint Francis was briefly narrated, with the help of Fr. Joseph Benedict and with a PowerPoint presentation by Joseph Cilia, an aspirant for the Franciscan life. A TAU cross was given to each participant and an explanation of this symbol followed.

Soon after this presentation of the Saint the young people were taken round the friary, the Franciscan Seminary and the garden in 4 groups. For many of them this was a totally new and exciting experience.

After all this, we were prepared to be begin our hike towards Buskett. Again the group was split in five groups under the guidance of the core group: Aaron Abdilla, Joseph Cilia, Stephen Borg, Clint Micallef and Andrea Diacono. A special thanks goes also to Fr. Paul Attard who gave a helping hand in the organisation. Therefore, at about 11am we began our walk and at about noon we arrived in an open space were we settled down and began to cook.

As soon as we arrived two groups also began to play football, others played hide and seek and other games. After a few minutes the food was ready to be served and everyone began to eat. After lunch, a treasure hunt was organised. Every individual took part and a real competition started because every one wanted to win. To the winners prices were given and it was time to start out walk back to the friary where parents and a private bus were waiting for them.

In my opinion this was a great experience where we prayed, learned and played in a Franciscan spirit. In the near future similar activities will be organised and also special meeting will began to be organised for these young people.