<em>The fervour of more than 10,000 Catholic students gathered at Wembley leaves <strong>Tom Colsy</strong> deeply impressed</em>
As the OVO Arena in Wembley begins to fill up, the commotion, noise and excitement are quickly audible. Upon the terraces of the dark venue hall, hundreds of mobile phone torchlights begin hopping around with youthful energy.
Some 10,800 young students are here for “Flame 2025”; a day-long initiative run collaboratively with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
It becomes clear I’m reporting on an event hard to categorise. It’s neither a solely a conference nor a concert; Flame keeps a foot well in both of those camps.
The day would be peppered by the blaring of <em>very</em> modern music, dancing, cheering, chanting crowds and well-received energetic performances by Christian Gospel rapper Guvna B, <em>The Voice UK</em> semi-finalist Adenike Adewale, and pop singer songwriter Lily Jo. Yet headline acts – such as A-list celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls – would be interviewed to share thoughts more substantively about their faith and personal story.
Flame is a mesh. A hybrid. Unusual, but – to my own surprise – evidently received raucously by large amounts of those present among the demographic they’re aiming at: school-age children, usually coming from Catholic schools across England and Wales – who may or may not be themselves presently Catholic but are at least curious about the Faith.
As the crowds of teenagers around me show themselves to be deafeningly and enthusiastically receptive to the various kinds of music the organisers are playing (popstar Sia’s <em>Unstoppable</em> introduces the event and sets the tone for its official running theme), I can’t help being taken a little aback.
The event feels more like an indoor Glastonbury than something organised with at the least partial assistance of aging bishops. Yet there aren’t many Glastonbury-style festivals I can think of where the faith and Jesus Christ are repeatedly made the object of focus, or where schoolteachers ward and shepherd their classes around in single file. There are few popular festivals too with 20 bishops in attendance or which end in Eucharistic Adoration.
At the opening introduction speech, the presenters announce that Flame is the largest gathering of Catholics in the country. Schools have mostly attended in unison with their diocese – students, priests and teachers from the Diocese of Nottingham proudly sport Robin Hood hats to indicate themselves – and after giving a rundown of what to expect across the day, the presenters give each one verbal recognition from the stage.
A competition emerges as to who can make the most responsorial noise – Brentwood give a good go of it, Wrexham were a little more sheepish, but the undisputed winners are the representatives from Hexham and Newcastle. I later discover why.
As the various acts, performers and speakers take to the stage, I can’t help laughing as crowds cheer (nearly) as loudly for esoteric (and sometimes frankly charismatically challenged) middle-aged or senior clerics as they do for the celebrities, rappers and singers they eagerly await. It’s at once wholesome, absurd and sweet.
The room is demographically diverse. When countries like “Nigeria” or “India” are mentioned, there are loud screams of varying volume. Musically, the difference between the more country-style of the One Hope Project band and more urban tastes appear to balance the inevitable differences of taste in the crowd.
At one o’clock, the most anticipated event begins as Bear Grylls sits down with Catholic public speaker David Wells.
Mr Grylls has ensured that an exclusive copy of his new book, <em>The Greatest Story Ever Told</em> – a narrative retelling the Gospel from the perspective of New Testament figures due to be released in May, is handed out to each attendee.
He shares a pivotal moment from his youth – after which he feels his living faith was activated. After the death of his godfather, a young Grylls climbed a tree to seek isolation in grief.
“God, if you’re there, just be with me for a while,” he whispered from the branches.
Mr Grylls, who comes from an Anglican confessional background, feels that from this moment, his faith was “a constant connection to the Almighty” and a “knowledge” that he is loved.
Nevertheless, he reveals that although he prays every day and believes in the divinity of Jesus, he “still isn’t that religious”. Trying to reassure listeners, he reveals he has as many doubts as impulses to belief – but, to him, this wrestling is natural.
At lunch I bump into another celebrity – an attendee this time rather than a speaker.
Television presenter Declan Donnelly is here: one half of the duo popularly known as “Ant and Dec”.
He confirms to the <em>Catholic Herald </em>that he is attending in at least partial tribute to his late brother – Fr Dermot Donnelly – who died in 2022.
Mr Donnelly actively sponsors the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and their youth ministry team. This year, this diocese brought the largest contingent of all the regions to London for Flame, with over 1,000 young people making the 250-mile journey.
Asked whether he himself was a believer, he responds "I am indeed, yeah. I come from a very strong Irish family in the northeast."
The afternoon is filled with testimonies from charity workers from CAFOD, the Society of Vincent de Paul, Wheels and Wheelchairs – and ultimately with that of Bryan Enriquez.
Mr Enriquez is a co-founder of <em>Hallow</em>, the most popular religious (and for a time in February 2024, the most popular altogether – ahead of Google and ChatGPT) electronic application on the planet.
One of the less glitzy guests, the crowd (late in the day) is more restless and distracted. But it is Mr Enriquez who I find gives the most authentic, humble and spiritually impactful speech of the guests.
Discussing his own surprising journey into the Faith through his work with <em>Hallow</em> – he tells the crowd sincerely about the profound, life changing effects listening to the (rival) podcast of Fr Mike Schmitz on the <em>Bible in a Year</em> and discovering ancient practices like Lectio Divina have had on his belief.
Mr Enriquez emphasises that Hallow is not necessary for the young people present but exhorts them to try reading Scripture and finding regular devotions. He proclaims earnestly to those gathered about the spiritual fruit found in doing so. Mr Enriquez is the only speaker over the course of the day to do so. But it’s likely the most important thing from the seeking youths to hear.
As the event draws to a close, the crowds are respectfully solemn and quiet for a few moments of Eucharistic adoration led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. This too has a perennial power.
<em>(Photo courtesy of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales)</em>
