On the eve of Palm Sunday, youth from across the Archdiocese of Montreal will turn the city into a living Jerusalem in a five-kilometre procession of song and prayer from St. Joseph’s Oratory to Mary Queen of the World Cathedral to remind us that Holy Week begins with triumphant joy. 

Mission Jeunesse will once again offer its Palm Saturday Walk on March 28, a somewhat viral initiative in recent years, now expected to draw close to 5,000 participants. It’s a powerful sign of the post-pandemic surge in youth faith across the Archdiocese of Montreal, with the youth ministry office expecting upwards of 1,000 more attendees than last year's pilgrimage. 

Beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Crypt of St. Joseph’s Oratory, youth and young adults alike will take on the lengthy procession that winds through downtown streets before concluding with youth-led Palm Saturday Mass at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral. 

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Isabel Correa, senior director of Evangelization and Christian Life for the Archdiocese of Montreal, has watched firsthand as the Holy Week introductory walk has grown from a few hundred participants. Looking back now, she attests the growth to a significant post-COVID explosion in youth engagement with the Church. 

“ This has been about celebrating our young people's faith and involvement, and we’ve seen that grow from about 500 to around 2,000. We stopped for three years due to COVID, and in 2024, we brought it back. It was last year’s route from the Oratory all the way to the cathedral that saw our numbers shoot up to nearly 4,000 people,” she said. 

“This year, there is no stopping it. People are once again asking for it, and they are ready even before we are. We keep seeing that enthusiasm grow.”  

The visible missionary act, designed specifically to commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with palms, prayer and praise, is a direct example of a revival in youth engagement. Correa said Rite of Election numbers are on an upward trend as well. 

“ We are happy the Lord is responding to people's thirst and young people’s search for meaning. I think they're finding that in the sense of community of people like them also seeking the way, the truth and the life, and Jesus responds to that,” she told The Catholic Register.

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Correa believes the highlight of the event is one that reminds the young adults of the reality awaiting Christ just a few days later. 

“This year will be my 20th Palm Saturday walk, and one thing that has always set my heart on fire is the eight-foot-long cross. We try to have different young people carry it every three or four minutes, and to see them feel the heaviness of that cross and make the connection with our Lord, who did the same for us, is always really special,” she said. 

Combined with seeing participants feel more liberated to publicly share their faith, an aspect of public life many faithful struggle with in Quebec for fear of judgment or criticism, Mission Jeunesse carries pride throughout its large crowds in a visible showing of faithful unity. 

Correa gave many thanks to Archbishop Christian Lepiné for his crucial support of the event, especially given Quebec’s secular climate. She noted that the event will continue with encouraging police accompaniment, despite the possibility of Bill 9, a provincial bill that aims to expand Quebec's secularism laws and limit public prayer. She now finds herself often reminded of Pope John Paul II's stand many years ago when thinking about the event’s future. 

“ Everybody has this on their mind, and so do I. It makes me think of St. John Paul II in Poland when he was fighting communism, and they weren't allowed to do religious manifestations. They had a whole procession with an empty picture frame of Our Lady of Częstochowa. I think people are just happy to have this privilege when so many Christians around the world are being persecuted right now,” she said. 

For more, see https://missionjeunessemtl.org/en/palm-saturday-walk/. 

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