The youth wing of the Catholic Bishop’s conference of India was very active spiritually as well as socially since the very beginning. However, this wing never got an official status by the church or the government until late 1999.
It was during the national youth convention of 1989 held at vasai, that a need for a recognized catholic youth group was felt necessary. Drafts were prepared and proposals were sent to the standing committee. Finally on 14th September,1999 the proposal was accepted and the youth group was inaugurated on 6th February 2000. It was named Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) with its motto – “to lead, to serve, to shine”. The essence of this movement was to develop a “youth to youth” approach. Presently, ICYM is the strongest catholic youth groups binding youths in India. It is the official body that delegates youths from India to international youth platforms like World Youth Day, Asian Youth Day, etc. It works in about 165 diocese of the country through parishes, zones, diocese, regions and finally national.
Yuva spandan, shanti morcha, taize pilgrimage, etc keeps the youth engaged in spiritual actions. Firm to its values of formation, fellowship and action, the ICYM promotes faith and trust among the youths towards the Catholic Church.
