These young people who dusted off the message of the Gospel: “We just wanted to make it something simple, joyful, uninhibited”

Marin, Augustin, Théau, Barthélémy and Rama are between 24 and 30 years old. Brothers and childhood friends, they form the music group Papamobile. And for several days, their title “Todos”, written and broadcast on the occasion of the visit of Pope Francis to our country, has been playing in a loop on streaming platforms and being shared en masse on social networks. With a message that is intended to be simple, joyful and uninhibited: “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia“!

From the summits of the largest basilica in Europe, in Koekelberg, these joyful guys distill their electro-pop sound, very young, very current, while displaying the national flag and that of the Papal City. “Come and sing, it’s the Pope who is visiting us. Kom iedereen, from Paus is in Belgium“, they declaim with their catchy refrain.

Between their praise concert given Thursday evening in the Saint-François parish of Louvain-la-Neuve and Sunday’s Eucharistic celebration at the Stade Roi Baudouin, Marin and Augustin Izoard, two of the protagonists of Papamobile, reveal to us the underside of this pop hit Catholic.

Marin and Augustin, why did you launch such a project?

Marin : We are all musicians. At the time of WYD in Lisbon (in October 2023, Editor’s note), people asked us to write a song for the Belgian delegation. That’s how we wrote “Levantar” (a piece played in a Lisbon stadium in front of thousands of young people gathered from all over the world, Editor’s note). We did it a bit in a hurry. But we quickly realized the enthusiasm it generated, even outside of the people who went to Portugal. So, when we learned that Pope Francis was coming to Belgium, we said to ourselves that it would be stupid to miss it.

What does this visit mean to you?

M. : This is a historic event. It is still the first time since 1995 that the Pope comes to Belgium. And then, he remains a global personality, so it is an important event for the whole country, not just for Catholics. And we wanted to relay this event in a simple and democratic way, with a rather joyful message.

And festive, given the musical arrangements made…

Augustin : We all have different aspirations. For example, I am a film music composer, we have a brother who raps… So we all brought something personal to the composition. There is also the raggaeton side, it’s the trendy genre among young people for several years. And then we even added autotune (a pitch correction software, Editor’s note), which makes the song very current. We really tried to bring together all the styles.

Is your song mainly aimed at young people?

A. : Not only. When we accompanied the young people to WYD, we realized that our song made everyone dance, in a broad way.

M. : Of course we are young ourselves, so we speak to our generation. But we designed this song as an anthem.

For what?

M. : Because an anthem is universal, it unites, everyone is concerned. When I sing “From North to South via Brussels”, and then there are some lyrics in Dutch (“Kom aan, kom aan, onze kerk she is beautiful”), it’s because above all we wanted that it is something that unites the whole country.

How did the writing of the song go?

M. : The title, “Todos”, echoes a word of Pope Francis pronounced during the World Youth Day in Lisbon: “En la Iglesia hay espacio para todos”. This means that “in the Church there is a space for everyone”. Whether you are a believer or not. It’s a universal message. You know, in our group, there are different ways of living the question of faith. Everyone therefore came with what they wanted to say, with their own experience of this question of faith and with what was in their heart.

Five young people rapping about lyrics about religion, that’s not common…

M. : This song is intended to be a simple and unpretentious way to spread a message of peace. Whether you are a believer or not: the way of experiencing spirituality is unique to each person. Pope Francis pays a lot of attention to the poorest, he sends many messages of peace, particularly to the Muslim community or atheists for example. He talks about what we can experience in our lives as students or young workers. The message of the Gospel is a message of peace that has crossed the centuries. We just wanted to make it something simple, joyful, uninhibited.

And the video clip is a hit! With a lot of production work. We imagine it took you a while…

M.: Well, imagine we shot that in barely three hours! We then added images from our concerts. But above all we were able to benefit from the work of a friend, Guilhem cros.

What’s next?

M. : The triple album is out in stores (laughing)! No, more seriously, we’ll see. But we are open to everything…

A. : We have always liked to put music at the service of people.

At 17, Bastien considers the Pope’s visit as a historic event: “My faith does not make me a person on the margins of society”

Originally from Namur, Bastien Van Den Hove is a practicing Catholic. This Saturday, September 28, 2024, he is participating in the Hope Happening event, which will bring together more than 7,000 young people at Heysel in Brussels. He sees his faith as an opportunity. Testimony.

Bastien Van Den Hove, 17, is one of the 7,000 young people who will participate in the “Hope Happening” event this Saturday at Heysel, on the occasion of the visit of Pope Francis. On the program: workshops on faith and spirituality, a music festival and a night on site, while waiting for the high mass on Sunday celebrated by the primate of the Catholic Church. Bastien did not hesitate to block the date in his diary: “It is a historic event and a great joy, as Christians in Belgium, to welcome the Pope. It seemed obvious to me to respond to this call.” The Namur resident goes to Hope Happening with the scouts of Europe, a group of around twenty boys aged 17 to 19. “I think we are going to experience a great moment of brotherhood with all the young people, there will be quite a few concerts, it will be a significant event!”

Bastien’s parents are practicing Catholics. But the Namurois insists, his faith is above all a personal matter. “I received this inheritance, I had the chance to go to mass with my parents every Sunday. But at the same time, it is more than that. Because I could very well have accompanied them without being believer. I think it is up to each person to experience faith, and to feel the strength of Jesus in their heart.“The young believer sees this faith as an opportunity, which pushes him to surpass himself: “Jesus only brings me positive things! If I have an exam or big deadlines for example, I can hand over everything I have in my heart to God, and then, I do things thoroughly.”

The marketing student now goes to mass every Wednesday, in addition to Sundays, since he has been in Louvain-la-Neuve. His prayers are daily. “I try to pray every evening and at the same time, since Jesus is always by my side, I can entrust him with something at any time of the day. If something weighs on me, I ask him to give me the strength to get through this ordeal.”

“In Rheto, everyone knew I was Catholic”

To mark the occasion, Bastien is not only attending Hope Happening this Saturday. On Thursday, he showed us his impatience to participate in the Youth pre-festival organized in Louvain-la-Neuve. “This Thursday evening, there is a concert by the group Papamobile, he told us. On Friday, a whole series of activities are also organized. The idea is to have a moment of sharing, of prayer, with conferences and testimonies.” But why spend so much time on the pope’s arrival? “I think it’s a special moment, and being prepared for it is all the better.”

Bastien’s faith, at only 17 years old, can be surprising. Not always easy to cope with as a teenager? “Personally, I can talk about my faith like someone else would talk about a hobby. In my Rheto year, everyone knew that I was Catholic and that I went to mass every Sunday. I never saw faith as something to keep to yourself. I’m someone like everyone else. I accepted Jesus, but that doesn’t make me an outsider. of society.”

A pastoral ministry that frees itself from parishes

On Saturday evening, more than 7,000 young people – aged 12 to 30 – will gather at the foot of Heysel, to take part in the “festival of youth and hope” called Hope Happening (see opposite).

This enthusiasm is reminiscent of that seen during the last edition of WYD, World Youth Day. In August 2023, some 2,000 young people from all regions of Belgium went to Lisbon, Portugal, to participate in this major event punctuated by creative workshops, concerts, moments of exchange, sharing and, of course, prayer.

Last October, there were another 1,473 young people, mostly French-speaking, who gathered in a similar spirit near Maredsous, on the occasion of the “JMJ Belgium #2” festival.

Dynamism

This atmosphere, where young people from all backgrounds abound and where music and colors intertwine with spirituality, breaks somewhat with the more austere aspect of a mass celebrated in the heart of a village parish.

Tommy Scholtès sj, French-speaking spokesperson for the Conference of Bishops of Belgium, is delighted with this “new dynamism that drives this new generation“and who brings a”a freshness“in the middle of the Catholic religion. These young people”looking for real encounters“, he observes. And the emergence of social networks or meeting groups – for example on university campuses – favors the emergence of a spirituality which is today “less linked to parishes. We adults must encourage this dynamism“.

It is for this reason that the French-speaking diocese of the Church of Belgium has a service dedicated specifically to the animation of this community of young believers, Church4You, which has no less than 18.3 FTEs.