Bear Grylls to speak at Flame youth congress

Bear Grylls on visit to Coventry Scout group. Wiki Image by Jamie Gray

This year's Flame, a gathering for young Catholics from across England and Wales, has sold out the OVO Wembley arena, with famous adventurer Bear Grylls one of the star speakers.

On Saturday, 15 March, 10,000 young Catholics will travel to London to celebrate their faith, take in talks from outstanding Catholic and Christian speakers, listen to music and performances from headline acts, and place Christ at the heart of their worship with Adoration led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.

Speaking ahead of the event, Bear Grylls, echoed this year's theme of Flame which is 'Unstoppable: Fan the Flame of Hope' by saying:

"May God bless you and all who you share this with. Remember: with the Almighty within us we are unstoppable!"

Bear Grylls, OBE, is world-renowned for his survival skills, and a former member of the British Special Forces, and will also be releasing his new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told, a series of eye-witness accounts of Jesus' life.

Every attendee will receive a copy of his book, which aims to make the Gospel more accessible for young people. He said:

"I'm so excited to share this book with you … it's all of our stories really."

Alongside Bear Grylls will be Bryan Enriquez, a founding member of the Hallow app, which is now the number one Catholic prayer and meditation app.

Isaac Harvey, MBE, is also due to speak, a disability advocate and content creator, who has modelled for London Fashion Week to promote adaptive fashion and has featured in Vogue.

Isaac leads Wheels and Wheelchairs, where roller skaters push wheelchair users and champions inclusivity through various different charity roles.

Father Dominic Howarth, a priest of Brentwood Diocese, and co-chair of the Flame Core Group, said:

"At a time when Pope Francis is so deeply in our thoughts and prayers, it is a particular blessing to be inspired by his Jubilee theme, Pilgrims of Hope.

"Flame 2025 is a testament to the hard work and dedication of many, many teachers, chaplains, priests and youth leaders from across the country - some of them will be leaving with groups of young people at 4am, and returning well after midnight!

"The programme is packed with speakers and musicians who will share life stories and images that offer a joyful vision of Christ-centred hope. We are looking forward to a wonderful day, to 'fan the flame of hope' for young people, parishes and schools across the country."

There will be music performed by Guvna B, Lily-Jo, World Youth Dance Crew, One Hope Project, and Adenike Adewale.

More information about Flame can be found here: https://cymfed.org.uk/flame/

CYMFed - the parent organisation for Flame - is the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation of England and Wales. Founded in 2009, it brings together every Diocese, along with Religious Orders, Movements and Organisations who work with young people. There are currently over 50 members, representing work in thousands of parishes, schools and detached youth ministry settings across the country.

Flame was inspired by the Visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. After seeing the gathering of young people at Westminster Cathedral and Hyde Park, CYMFed took the opportunity of the London Olympics as another reason to gather young people, and Flame was born. The guiding Scripture has always been "Fan into a flame the gifts of God" (2 Tim 1:6). It is especially significant that this verse was picked up by Pope Francis as part of the introduction to the Jubilee Year in 2025, where he encourages us all to "Fan the Flame of Hope."

Flame 2025 will be the sixth Flame (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023), with the intention for it to take place every two years; the next Flame is already pencilled in for 2027.