English 
Sr. Chiara will participate in the World Youth Day in Lisbon; for her is the fourth WYD but the first in which she participates as a missionary who accompanies other young people.
My name is Chiara, I come from Pioltello, in the province of Milan, Italy. I joined the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate in September 2016 and on October 2nd, 2022 I made my first profession. I am now in our community of Pozzuoli working in the missionary animation among young people. I came to know the MSI during the vocational journey of discernment proposed by PIME in 2013.
For a young person to see that many other young people like him or her are trying to live their faith and are asking themselves meaningful questions it is a great encouragement and a great joy.
Some youth told me that they are eager to meet many other young people either among those with whom they will travel or in the bigger group, among those who will join from all over the world; they expect this meeting to be a sign of communion, of beauty, of shared faith. Especially those who participate in the WYD for the first time and who have heard from older friends their different experiences are full of expectations. They feel they are part of a larger story, of a larger people.
We, the PIME Missionaries and the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate, are proposing an experience a little different, we called it “CROSSROADS”.
We will travel by coach till Lisbon, stopping in different places. We will be few days in Marseille, in Barcelona and in Madrid: in these cities we will visit some of the realities who take care of the most weak and destitute people.
This in order to understand that we can be missionaries also in the cities which we know are famous as tourist destinations but which have also a hidden side. Surely there will be the opportunity for some visits and for moments of fun and sharing. In Lisbon we will join the Way of the Cross, the Vigil and the Mass with Pope Francis together with the thousands of youth coming from every country of the world.
My vocation story is closely linked with the World Youth Day. I can say that in Madrid I started my “adult” faith journey, in Rio de Janeiro my missionary vocation question started to arise and Cracovia (Krakow) was just before my joining the community. Now Lisbon, my fourth WYD, comes in my first year of religious life and it is a very big gift of the Lord, like a confirm that He is leading my life. I am very happy to be able to accompany other youth and would like that they too could make the same beautiful experience of God which I made in these big events. I am honoured of walking with them and hope to draw from this experience freshness and energy for my missionary life.
Sr. Chiara Ubbiali, Italy
