C‘is an event that only takes place every 25 years. From July 28 to August 3, half a million young people from around the world gathered in Rome in a pilgrimage approach to celebrate the jubilee of young people, a year under the sign of penance, faith and hope. Among these 500,000 young pilgrims, 21,000 French people moved to the invitation of their dioceses and movements. One of them, this Saturday, will represent them all, speaking during a vigil in the presence of Pope Leo XIV, in Tor Vergata, in the Roman suburbs.
Antoine Sainte-Claire, 20, is from Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise) and piano student at the Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine). It is part of the Celestial City, a group bringing together more than 200 young people from working -class neighborhoods. For the group, this invitation is a surprise: “I was warned two weeks ago that the dicastery was looking for a young person to represent France at this vigil, and they thought of the Celestial City”, explains Father Alexis Germon, head of the pilgrimage, to the newspaper The cross.
Read too “You are the light of the world”: Leon XIV’s first speech in French
“It fell on us a bit like that, without any particular contact with the Vatican. In any case, it is a strong signal for working -class neighborhoods. In total, 300 young people from the celestial city and the Missionary Fraternity Movement of the Cities, made the trip to Rome.
A long search for faith
The designation of Antoine Sainte-Claire to testify to his journey of faith is all the more symbolic since the young man experienced a late conversion. Born from a Martinican father and a Reunion mother, he was raised in the Catholic tradition, without feeling close to his faith.
Sagely, school, he goes to mass on Sundays with family, sometimes even alone. “I knew it was good for me, I wanted to do things well,” he told The cross. At the time of the covid, he joined as a altar, integrates more into his parish, but the revelation does not appear to him. “God knew me, probably, but I did not know him,” he thinks today.
A revelation in 2023
It was during the pilgrimage of the Frat de Lourdes that Antoine Sainte-Claire saw his relationship to the faith switch. During a worship of worship, the teenager confesses. He said he had the impression of hearing the Word of God.
To discover
The kangaroo of the day
Answer
The second meeting comes a few months later: “I saw myself on my knees in a desert with me Jesus who looked at me. In his gaze, I perceived something beautiful, very deep that I will never finish contemplating. I understood that God loved me personally, and that the goal of my life would be to meet him, ”he says. During this journey, playing the piano allows him to “try to give something beautiful, which reflects the creation of God”.
As for the vigil alongside the Pope, Antoine Sainte-Claire approaches it with serenity. “I tell myself that God has chosen to use me to talk about Him. I will do my best, and if it should touch hearts, it will. »»
