Addis Ababa — Despite the difficulties in language barrier, the Community of St John has accepted the request by the archdiocese in Ethiopia to head the local youth ministry.

According to the ACN, Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa asked the community which was founded in France to provide chaplains who would set up a youth ministry program for the archdiocese.

Br. Iovane, who is one of three brothers who went to Ethiopia, told ACN that one of the biggest challenges has been learning a new language.

The brother said that with two others, they had spent three hours a day learning Amharic, the country's official language, one of 80 spoken in Ethiopia.

He then explained how the language has similar roots to Hebrew, with an alphabet that has as many as 277 different characters.

Despite the difficulties of learning the complicated language, the new youth chaplain said that any challenges pale in comparison to the higher calling of the work he has been sent to do alongside his community.

"You have to speak the language to communicate with the young people it's not a question of whether it's difficult or not," he added. "What matters is that it's what the Lord is calling me to do."

Speaking of the fervent faith of the Addis Ababa Catholic youth, Br. Iovane said they "have a faith, a sense of adoration through liturgy that is just amazing.

I've never seen that anywhere else and I'm not talking about Eucharistic Adoration. What I mean is while singing at the entrance of Mass they are connected to God, worshiping God in a personal context.