YMG Origins

When Fr Ken Barker MGL was in Assisi in the Jubilee Year 2000 praying in the xsall church where St Francis and his brothers spent much of their time, he sensed the Lord wanted a movement of young men in Australia, which would spread also to other countries.

He sensed the Lord wanted young men to rise up in the Church today with a deep faith, purity of heart, and strength of character, to become leaders for the future. The Lord wanted to help young men to change; to know they can be made new.

Fr Ken shared this vision with some young men in Canberra who had already begun to gather with other young men to support one another around, sport, teachings, and personal sharing. They shared the vision together and a movement was born.

During Covid, and due to other influences, the movement lost momentum. We are now in a moment of renaissance with renewed vision and vigour to fulfill the Lord’s dream for men. This renewal has been assisted by a strong group of young men in Adelaide led by Charl Abd elmalk who in 2024 decided to change their original name and come into communion with YMG.