(ANS - Vatican City)- The Pastoral Ministry Team at the Lateran Pontifical University has launched a special initiative called "12xLui". In the next twelve months, twelve students will leave for twelve Mission places in the world.  What is different about this mission is that none of them know in advance where they will be sent. Bishop Dal Covolo SDB, Rector of the University says that this experience will help young people to see that going on mission is a gratuitous and spontaneous act of love.

This project is different insofar as it asks the participants to offer their services without any conditions. In an interview with Vatican Insider the University Chaplain Fr Mirko Integlia explained: "It is only during the commissioning Mass that the young people discover their destination and they are asked to accept it unconditionally in a spirit of true service.  And where are they being sent? To the marginalized areas of the world, so dear to the heart of Pope Francis."

The first student to depart will be 24-year-old Fabio Massimo Battaglia, Deputy Director of the Ministry Team. Fabio is graduating from the Faculty of Civil Law, and is being sent to the Christian community of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath’s Diocese of Trichur in southern India.

Fabio says: "I have always wanted to make the world a little bit better than I found it. This is surely a good step! I will work in my own small way with humility and commitment. I want to take the risk and serve my neighbour without conditions and without looking for anything in return. I want to be ready always to give and not to own. These are the key reasons for my choice."

The missionaries are chosen after careful discernment and a period of preparation for lay students of the Lateran University who want to participate in the Project. Each of them will be engaged in service and evangelization, for a longer or shorter period depending on their course of studies. They make particular use of the summer periods.

Bishop dal Covolo, Rector of the University, has encouraged and supported the "12XLui" Initiative.  He believes that missionary experience is "highly formative for the personal and spiritual awareness of every single student. In particular the challenge of accepting a surprise mission teaches young people that going on mission is a gratuitous and spontaneous act of love. The work they do in their countries of destination meets a twofold objective of the UN, bringing charity and love to the marginalized areas of the world, and offering every young person an unforgettable and invaluable opportunity for growth."

Published 05/03/2015