From America, Africa, the whole Europe and even Asia and Australia. Young Catholics from all over the world were praying, having fun and simply living the life to the fullest at the Festival of Life in Kokotek, southern Poland (July 8–14). What makes this event so special?
Life, joy, God – that’s the slogan of the Festival of Life, the biggest Christian festival for youth in Poland. A week in tents, concerts, conferences, workshops, as well as daily Holy Mases, worship, 24/7 adoration and – most of all – the huge fellowship of young, living Church.
WILL THIS BE THE BEST WEEK IN YOUR LIFE? CHECK IT OUT!
Some people travel hundreds and thousands of miles to spend this one week there, in the middle of the forest somewhere in Poland, and when asked why they do it, the most common answer is: at the Festival of Life you may live the best week in your life!
At the Festival of Life they are looking for faith they cannot find anywhere else
Joanna, encouraged by videos on Facebook, came to Kokotek from Ireland to use the experience of the Festival of Life to build a recently established small community of young Catholics near Dublin, of which she is the animator. Another Polish woman, who is a nun in Madrid, brought with her another nun, a Spanish woman, to learn how to work with young people in the Church. Clerics and young priests from Africa observed how to create attractive pastoral events for youth. And every year a group of several dozen people from the Polish parish in Brussels come to the Festival of Life and every year they say that they cannot imagine not being here again.
How do they experience faith in the countries where they live, and why are they ready to come to the Festival of Life from literally the other end of the planet to spend this one week in Kokotek?
They lost their luggage, but they keep their faith. ‘This is hope for us and our children’
A year ago, Adriana with her family flew 40 hours from Australia to Kokotek to show their children the living faith of the young Church. After the holidays, she returned to Perth, talked to her friends and this year they were at the Festival of Life again, but with a team of 9 people and… losing all their suitcases along the way.
‘Seeing so many young people praying and full of life, we feel great hope that the Church is alive, and these young people go into the world and bring love, goodness, peace and joy. It is also hope for our children that after what they experience here, they will always follow Jesus’, argues Gabriela Kania. ‘Unfortunately, we do not have such opportunities in Perth, because the Church there is not very developed. We have to fly across the globe to meet such fantastic people at the Festival of Life’,
adds Szymon Dubert.
Gustav reached Kokotek from Sweden with a dozen or so people from the Polish religious community in Malmö. He admits that although they organize meetings of young Catholics from different cities, it is in no way comparable to such a great event as the Festival of Life. ‘In this country, Catholics are few and far between, at school or at university we always feel alone. When we come here, we receive strong testimony from other people and then we take these experiences to Sweden, and this greatly builds and strengthens our faith’, he says.
From the Kazakh steppes to the metropolises of America
For the first time, a group of several young people from Kazakhstan participated in the Festival of Life. Although none of them speaks Polish, because they have German or Ukrainian roots, encouraged by a Polish missionary, they came to Kokotek with a translator to experience something they cannot experience in their homeland.
‘What is amazing to me is how many people are at the Festival of Life, three times more than in Oziornoye, the most popular pilgrimage site in Kazakhstan. I really like the Holy Masses conducted in the spirit of young people and the way the content of the conference reaches me’, says Veronika. ‘While I’m here, I also think that I’d like to bring my non-believing friends to the festival to show them this Church and this faith’,
she admits.
LIFE, JOY, GOD – FESTIVAL OF LIFE!
There were also guys from America in Kokotek. Adrian is from Quebec in the French-speaking part of Canada, and Alex comes from Elmhurst, a suburb of Chicago. They decided to combine their holiday stay with their families in Poland with a religious event. It turns out that regardless of the continent, young Catholics have the same thoughts and desires.
‘Quebec is a very secular place. We can’t wear any religious symbols at school, and churches are dying. I haven’t even heard about Catholic meetings for young people’, Adrian laments. ‘I am absolutely surprised at how professionally organized the Festival of Life is. I am glad that we can participate in this event with a fantastic pastor from Wrocław, who helps us spend this time well’,
adds Alex.
Boring Church in Poland versus joyful Africa and warm America? The Festival of Life breaks stereotypes and proves that the opposite can be true
Hyacinth Ummunna OMI is a deacon of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He comes from Nigeria, but he completed his entire 6-year seminary formation in Poland. He admits that the Festival of Life is a place created just for him.
‘The theme of this year’s festival – Come back home – is very interesting to me, and at the same time very sad, because next year I will be ordained a priest and will have to return home to Nigeria. As a monk, the Festival of Life gives me great joy, and – as Pope Francis says – a day without a smile is a wasted day’, admits the oblate.
‘When I see a Church full of young people, I feel this joy and at the same time responsibility – for them, for myself, for the entire Church. I take these beautiful experiences from the Festival of Life to Nigeria in my heart, they will definitely help me be a better priest’,
says Fr. Hyacinth.
Three nuns from Miami, Florida, from the little-known in Poland congregation of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, also participated in the Festival of Life. On a daily basis, they cooperate with the Gliwice diocese, helping in the pastoral care of youth and students, and in Kokotek they were involved in conducting workshops in English on building friendship. At the same time, they discover what appeals most to young believers.
‘I am very moved by the simplicity of life and the relationships we experience here. Young people just come, pitch tents, can freely meet each other, talk, they are simply warm and joyful. I find this extremely appealing, because in the multitude of external stimuli and the pursuit of having more things, we often forget how much we want a space where we can simply be ourselves’,
notes Sr. Evelyn Montes de Oca SCTJM.
‘At the Festival of Life, I see a beautiful example of how the Church should work with young people. I’m glad that there are also young families with small children here who also experience this wonderful atmosphere. This is a great opportunity to experience faith together as one family in the Church’,
adds the nun from Miami.
Bishop in the mud at the Festival of Life. No Polish hierarch has done this before!
He came to celebrate Mass at the Catholic Festival of Life in Kokotek. But before he put on his liturgical robes, something happened that the oldest hierarchs do not remember… One of the highlights of the program is an extreme, spectacular cross-country run, in which one of the hierarchs of the Catholic Church also took part.
Apart from young people, priests, nuns and nuns also appear on the demanding 5-kilometer route of the Festival Run in Kokotek, spectacularly getting their habits dirty in dust and mud. This time, Bishop Piotr Przyborek from Archidiocese of Gdańsk unexpectedly appeared at the start of the race, as one of the 500 competitors. Together with the fun youth, he swam across the pond, waded through muddy ditches, climbed sand dunes and raced along forest paths.
BISHOP IN MUD: I DECIDED TO TRY WHAT IT’S LIKE!
‘People sometimes drag bishops in mud. I decided to try what it’s like. Quite nice, it’s not that bad!’, laughed Bishop Przyborek, drowned up to his waist, as he waded through the deep swamp.
When he received his medal at the finish line and drank a bottle of water, the bishop’s ring on his finger gleamed eloquently from under the thick layer of dirt. When asked if this was a symbol of where the clergy should go to reach the young generation today, he replied briefly: ‘These are not the peripheries of the Church, this is its center’.
‘Great run, great atmosphere! Someone drowns, another helps him, gives him a hand, pulls his hair… The challenge is strong!’, summed up the bishop moments before he and everyone else jumped into the lake for the water event that crowned the competition.
The next Festival of Life from July 7 to 13, 2025
This year’s Festival of Life ended with a solemn Sunday Eucharist presided over by Fr. Marek Ochlak, provincial of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Poland. Afterwards, approximately 1,600 participants who had been taking part in the event throughout the whole week, returned to their homes. In total, several thousand people participated in the festival over the seven days of the event.
As the organizers announce, preparations for the next edition will start immediately after the holidays. The next Festival of Life will take place from July 7 to 13, 2025.
All news regarding the event will appear on the website www.festiwalzycia.pl and on social media – Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Film reports from each day of the festival, as well as selected conferences and homilies are now available on the Festival of Life channel on YouTube.