Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America
Mother María Elena Martínez, a Mexican religious with 30 years of consecrated life, founded the Sicar retreat movement in 2015 to spiritually form young adults across Latin America. The Sicar retreats, inspired by the biblical story of the Samaritan woman at Sychar, aim to help young people discover Christ through prayer, reflection, and community. The movement has expanded beyond Mexico to Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru, reaching thousands of youths through retreats held in parishes and correctional facilities. The initiative grew from a pastoral response to requests for youth-focused ministry, beginning with the first retreat in 2016 and evolving into a significant evangelization experience in the region.
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The Sicar retreat, founded by Mother María Elena Martínez, has become a leading youth‑evangelization movement in Latin America, offering spiritual formation to thousands of young adults through immersive weekend experiences rooted in the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn 4) 1 2.
Mother María Elena Martínez, a Mexican religious with more than three decades of consecrated life, began the “Mary, Mother of Love” association in 2015 and felt repeatedly urged to serve young people 1. In 2016 she organized the first Sicar retreat, initially for participants already involved in the Emmaus movement, using the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Christ as the theological foundation 2.
After establishing retreats in Mexican cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, Puebla, Guanajuato, Veracruz, Mérida and Cuernavaca, Sicar spread to neighboring countries: Guatemala (2017), Argentina (Buenos Aires, 2018), Paraguay (2022) and Peru (2023) 1 2. By mid‑2026 the program had held 38 retreats in Mexico (≈2,000 participants) and seven in Peru (≈490 participants) 1.
Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar Perú, explained that the retreat fills a gap for young adults aged 24‑25 who lack a faith‑formation outlet after youth ministry ends. Two annual retreats in Lima (May and November) have fostered a strong sense of communal support, with participants emphasizing the difficulty of “going it alone” 2.
Volunteers and alumni repeatedly describe profound personal change. Ottmar Ricalde (Mexico) notes that the retreat revealed God’s love and shifted his focus from pleasing others to pleasing God. In Paraguay, coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted growth and renewal, while an Argentine couple credited Sicar with transforming their relationship into marriage. Participants such as Eros Acevedo and Rafael Mansilla speak of renewed faith, healed wounds, and a steady “flame” of belief 1 2.
The retreat encourages encounters with a “living Jesus,” inviting participants to experience God’s ongoing miracles and mercy. Mother María Elena stresses that the experience teaches believers to view others through “eyes of mercy,” recognizing every person as a child of God 1.
Sicar’s model—retreats organized by young people for young people—has become a catalyst for spiritual renewal across Latin America, offering a structured yet intimate environment where participants discover deeper faith, community, and purpose 2.
Explore Catholic youth formation models in Latin America
Catholic youth formation in Latin America is best understood not as a single program type, but as a formation “path” anchored in the kerygma (initial proclamation of Christ), shaped by accompaniment (journeying together), and carried out through real communities and services—with special pastoral attention to the region’s youth majority and the social pressures that many young people face.
In Catholic teaching, a “youth formation model” should include both:
Pope Francis insists that youth ministry must not trade away the initial encounter with Christ for a more “solid” curriculum: “Nothing is more solid… than that initial proclamation.”
At the same time, formation is not only intellectual; it must also produce growth into fraternal love, community life, and service.
Pope Francis states a principle that functions like a criterion for evaluating youth programs: youth ministry should never let “the kerygma” be replaced by “supposedly more ‘solid’ formation.”
He describes the goal as entering more deeply into the kerygma and incarnating it more fully in daily life.
Implication for Latin America: formation models that emphasize activities but neglect the living encounter with Christ risk becoming what Francis warns against—something that looks like teaching but fails to root life in the Gospel.
Francis also gives a balanced framework: youth growth must include formation in “Christian doctrine and morality,” and it must have two main goals:
So a Catholic youth formation model in Latin America should typically combine:
The US bishops’ framework uses Emmaus as a concrete pastoral model: Jesus listens to realities, teaches so life is interpreted in the Gospel, and sends disciples on mission.
This “listen–teach–send” pattern is not merely a communications strategy; it is formation pedagogy—how young people learn to read their lives, meet Christ, and then take responsibility.
Latin American application: formation is more credible when leaders first understand the young person’s lived situation, then help interpret it in Christ, and only then propose mission and discipleship as something to choose.
Francis adds a style-of-ministry lens: youth ministry must become “popular,” meaning it is gradual, respectful, patient, hopeful, tireless and compassionate.
That matters especially in settings where many youth are not reached by elite or purely academic ecclesial programs.
Implication for Latin America: youth formation should function like a pastoral bridge into the Church—welcoming many young people with a rhythm that does not demand perfection before encounter.
John Paul II highlights an urgency for Latin America (and Brazil in particular): the Church committed to a “preferential option for the young” (non-exclusive) because youth are crucial for the future and for evangelization.
He notes the sheer youth population and the pastoral consequence: the qualitative need is urgent too—youth are discovering and planning life’s first major decisions, which shapes both the Church and society.
In Ecclesia in America, John Paul II describes youth ministry as primary concern: formation must be constant and active, helping young people find their place in Church and world.
He also notes that many young people—especially those affected by poverty—remain outside the Church’s ordinary activity, and youth ministry therefore requires pastoral outreach “wherever they are found” (schools, universities, workplace, countryside).
Implication for Catholic youth formation models in Latin America: an effective model is not only parish-based; it is also relationally mobile—able to meet young people in real life contexts and support them toward lasting commitment.
Francis lists multiple ways youth ministry can renew and deepen personal experience of God’s love and Christ:
This provides a concrete “mix” for formation models: the Gospel must be communicated through experiences of prayer and encounter, not only explanation.
The Congregation for Catholic Education stresses that beyond family and school, youth groups in leisure time can strongly influence formation; groups support maturation through “efficacious personal relationships.”
Implication for Latin America: youth ministry models often work best when they include structured peer communities (youth groups, movements, or parish youth circles) that cultivate real friendships and mentorship, not only one-time events.
Benedict XVI notes that sports have educational potential for youth and can contribute to human and moral formation when oriented ethically and managed by qualified personnel.
He emphasizes avoiding trends that harm the body (e.g., doping) and calls Church leaders to guide youth so athletic development does not obscure Christian virtues.
Implication for Latin America: formation models can legitimately integrate sports as a way to build discipline, virtue, and community—provided the program is ethically governed and explicitly oriented to integral human and spiritual growth.
Drawing these sources together, a coherent Catholic youth formation model in Latin America typically has these elements:
Begin with proclamation and moments of encounter—so formation does not become mere “indoctrination.”
Ensure formation in Christian doctrine and morality, as a necessary component of youth growth.
Measure whether formation is producing fraternal love, community belonging, and service—not just knowledge.
Use a journeying-with method: understand the young person, interpret life in Gospel light through teaching, and then empower mission.
Make youth ministry gradual and compassionate, avoiding elitism so that more young people can actually enter the Church’s life.
Include structures that help young people relate, pray, and grow in real communities—whether in parish youth groups, educational settings, or ethically governed activities like sports.
Catholic youth formation models in Latin America—when faithful to the Church’s teaching—are best described as kerygma-centered, doctrine-and-morality informed, community-driven, and mission-oriented, delivered through a journeying-together pedagogy (listen–teach–send) and a “popular” pastoral style that is patient, hopeful, and compassionate.