On Saturday 7th March at The SSE Wembley Arena (London) nearly 8000 young people came together to celebrate their Catholic Faith in the presence of the main speaker, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle - Cardinal Archbishop of Manila, the Philippines; Cardinal Vincent Nichols of England and Wales, 17 Bishops, 3 heads of Religious Congregations (including Fr Martin Coyle SDB), Baroness Sheila Hollins (House of Lords), Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, (former Master General), Mr David Wells, Director of Adult Formation and Youth Ministry in the Diocese of Plymouth, and Matt Redman, double Grammy award winner.

Right at the front of the arena was 750 very proud Salesians.
For twenty minutes Cardinal Tagle held 8000 people in the palm of his hands - speaking on 'God's mercy' he told stories, reflected on his pastoral ministry, and challenged all to;
"be the living signs of God's mercy" - nothing more, nothing less!!
Later, all were asked to 'take out their mobile phones' and send this text message to someone;
'Blessed are the merciful'
All over the UK, the message pinged into households, to places of work, to those who needed to hear the message, to those willing to hear God's call.

All were invited to share in the Prayer for the Congress:

Lord,
You are the light of the world.
Let your joyful light shine for us,
especially where we face confusion, doubt, struggle or fear.
Through St John Bosco you share with us
the unique and precious truth:
"Every person is loved, every person is loveable"
Let the flame of your love illuminate our
lives and hearts.
Through St Paul you tell us,
"In my weakness, I am strong"
Give us the courage to be surprised today,
to discover new truths about ourselves and
the people around us.
You invite us to fan our gifts into a flame,
inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Pour out your personal, intimate, tender grace
on to each person here, that we may
discover who you are calling us to be.
Amen

Cardinal Nichols led the arena in praise, worship and silent prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Flame 2 was inspired by Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel" in which he inspires, challenges and urges us to bring the Gospel to the world today.
A word of thanks to the Flame Congress Core Group - Fr Dermott Donnelly, John Toryusen, Fr Dominic Howarth, Gerry Kehoe and Lucy Jardine.
Thanks to all those who organised and brought Salesian Groups from all over Great Britain - but a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Sue McDonald for her work in getting us all prepared.