Dearest Family,

With my soul still stirred and my gaze still glowing from the experience of Encounter Magdala 2025, I feel moved to share with you some reflections that I hope will speak deeply to your hearts.

We have just concluded the Encounter. Around 300 people took part. We owe immense gratitude to Francisco de Vitoria University for their generosity, support, and the logistical help that made this gathering possible. In particular, we thank the Rector, Mr. Daniel Sada, and Professor Ana Mezquita, who walked with us throughout the year, helping to shape this encounter with such dedication.

Our heartfelt thanks also go to every organizer—our staff, the Media Team, the entire Magdala team, the social media volunteers, and the in-person volunteers who worked tirelessly to prepare, accompany, and lovingly wrap up every detail of this precious event. To our benefactors—without whom this Encounter could not have taken place—thank you. To the speakers and musicians, who guided our reflections with such grace and professionalism, thank you. And finally, to each and every participant: we pray that you return home with hearts overflowing—with grace, with inspiration, and with the gentle presence of the Lord alive within you.

Two images from Scripture rise within me as I contemplate these past days: the image of the Burning Bush, and that of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. In both, the true protagonist is God—Yahweh in the first, Jesus in the second. We felt our hearts burning within us, for it was God Himself who gathered us from over 15 different nations—young people and those young at heart, as we love to say. The action of God in the soul knows no age, no social class, no gender, no limits. He was the One behind each of us: some preaching or hearing confessions, others walking, or playing an instrument… all of us sharing our gifts and our living experience of faith.

Even as you read these words, many participants are still on their journeys—perhaps in airports, on planes, or trains, making their way home. I ask you: approach them. Ask them to share their experience and testimony. For through them, you too may come to see that the Burning Bush still burns—it is not consumed.

On the final day of the Encounter, we took important steps toward strengthening the Magdala Family. From this spirit of unity, we have embraced a great CHALLENGE: the global Magdala Family has committed to providing the rosaries for the Pilgrim Kit for World Youth Day in Seoul 2027. It is a bold mission, with several profound goals.

First—and most urgently—we aim to provide steady work for Christian artisans in Bethlehem. Through this project, we hope to support at least 250 families for a full year. You know well how the war in the Holy Land has deeply impacted Christian communities whose livelihood has long depended on religious tourism.

Second, we hope to offer every young pilgrim a gift in the name of the Pope—an invitation to discover and pray the Holy Rosary.

Third, we wish to make our Magdala Family known at this great gathering of youth from around the globe, sowing the seed of a future call—inviting many to eventually experience the land where our Lord walked.

There are also two important announcements for the future.

First: from this day forward, the Encounter will carry a new name: “Rabbuní.” In the coming messages, we will delve more deeply into the spiritual reasons for this change. In the meantime, the film "Rabbuní"—born from our Magdala experience—will soon be released and will help share the name and the spirit of what we have lived.

Second: the next “Rabbuní,” God willing, will return to the Holy Land, from July 21 to 31, 2026. The theme will be: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice” (2 Timothy 1:7). Building on this year’s reflection on Hope, we feel the Lord calling us to go deeper into the Spirit He has given us, as we continue our journey toward the Bimillennial Jubilee of Redemption in 2033.

I leave it to the rest of the team to continue sharing with you more photos, videos, testimonies, and the fruits of what we have lived. It was a great Pentecost—a pure gift from God.

I end these lines here, simply hoping they reach you swiftly and warmly.

Blessings,
Fr. Juan María, L.C., and the Magdala Team