Our Values

Cardignis International (CI) will strive to complement and support the vision of Fr Joseph Cardijn, and  the mission of the Young Christian Worker (YCW) movement:  a mission he believed  to be so important for young people, the church and the kingdom of God.

The CI Institute will seek to work constantly to provide support to enable this vision to be shared with as many young people as possible  and with as many other people  in as many countries as possible. In doing this it will work hand in hand with realities that strive to  serve, educate and represent young people, in the Church and society.

CI will call for the participation and support of persons of good will that have in the past participated in, and grown through, by living out its method in their lives   Theirs is a vision that the Lord has so graciously passed on to us through the life and work of  Fr Joseph Cardijn – a vision that knows that it is only by constantly aiming to re discover his energy, his insight, his belief in young people and the Church, that we can truly live up to the challenge!

Cardijn, in his book “Laymen into Action” writes about the Young Christian Worker Movement :

“the movement has often gone backwards and forwards; there have been many regressions and thousands of fresh starts and lengthy processes of trial and error – both in expression and practical application – but it never ceases to reach out towards its great goal which is both far off and yet daily very close.”  (pg 19)

The CI will seek to be a source of encouragement and support  to young people through its support initiatives and the partnerships it forges.  It will help young people, to see the difficult situations they experience as a springboard for positive action.

Together with its Strategic Partners and past YCW members, the CI will endeavour to provide tools and practical opportunities to sustain young leaders, chaplains and adult companions as they seek to create the experiences through which the daily question, so close to the heart of  Fr Cardijn, may be answered:

“How can people, all people, be made aware that they have a mission on earth that God, himself has entrusted to them from the very moment of creation and  redemption, a mission the Church proclaims to them and helps them to realise?   What can be done to make each person live with this unshakable conviction: ‘God needs me! I am his missionary’?” (ibid)

It is with humility but equally with a deep conviction of the need to do our part in His mission that CI has been developed after much thought and many questions, together with prayer and support from YCW members, chaplains, adult companions and friends.