INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC WORLD YOUTH DAY

  • History

World Youth Day (WYD) is the gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. It is also a pilgrimage, a celebration of youth, an expression of the universal Church and an intense moment of evangelization for the youth world. Although its Catholic identity is clearly evident, WYD opens its doors to everyone, no matter how close to or distant from the Church they are.It is celebrated at the diocesan level on Palm Sunday, and every two, three or four years as an international gathering in a city chosen by the Pope, with the presence of the Holy Father. It brings together millions of young people to celebrate their faith and sense of belonging to the Church.

Since its first edition in Rome in 1986, World Youth Day has proven to be a laboratory of faith, a place of birth for vocations to marriage and consecrated life, and an instrument for the evangelization and transformation of the Church.It aims to provide all participants with a universal Church experience, fostering a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.It is a new stimulus to the faith, hope and charity of the entire host country community. With young people as its protagonists, World Youth Day also seeks to promote peace, unity and fraternity among peoples and nations around the world.

International Catholic World Youth Day, program of religious education and spiritual formation for youth in the Roman Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II was inspired to establish World Youth Day in 1986 by the church’s Youth Jubilee (1984), a special meeting between the pope and young Catholics held at the conclusion of the 1983–84 Year of Jubilee, and by the United Nations International Youth Year (1985).The first World Youth Day, held on Palm Sunday in Rome, had the goal of assuring young Catholics of their capacity to perpetuate the church’s traditions, spirituality, and work within the world.

WYD is open to all young people who want to take part in a festive encounter centered on Jesus Christ together with their peers. This event is an opportunity to personally experience the universality of the Catholic Church, and to share with the whole world the hope of many young people who are committing their lives to Christ and His Church. World Youth Day is a unique way to deepen your faith and grow closer to Christ, through prayer and the sacraments, together with hundreds of thousands of other young people who share your interests and ambitions.

The World Youth Day cross has many names: Jubilee Cross, Pilgrim Cross, and Youth Cross. It was entrusted to the youth as they were given the commission to “carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ’s love for humanity, and announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption.” The cross set out with the young people from St. Peter’s in 1984 and has since been carried around the world, making a pilgrimage from parish to parish, diocese to diocese, and country to country.

Catholic World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon, Portugal

World Youth Day (WYD) is the gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. It is also a pilgrimage, a celebration of youth, an expression of the universal Church and an intense moment of evangelization for the youth world. Although its Catholic identity is clearly evident, WYD opens its doors to everyone, no matter how close to or distant from the Church they are.It aims to provide all participants with a universal Church experience, fostering a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. It is a new stimulus to the faith, hope and charity of the entire host country community. With young people as its protagonists, World Youth Day also seeks to promote peace, unity and fraternity among peoples and nations around the world.

World Youth Day has been announced, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1 to 6 August 2023.“The announcement of the date of WYD on this day of St. Francis of Assisi, is an important moment for everyone. It has been a long time that young people from all over the world desired to know the date of WYD Lisbon 2023 in order to prepare in detail for going to Lisbon. We hope that the 22 months leading up to WYD will be a time of evangelization for all,” said Cardinal Manuel Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon.

Theme

«Mary arose and went with haste» (Lk 1:39) is the bible quote chosen by Pope Francis as the motto of the World Youth Day that will be held for the first time in the capital city of Lisbon, Portugal. The biblical phrase (a quote from the Gospel of St. Luke) opens the account of the Visitation (Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth), a biblical episode following the Annunciation (the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God, and the theme of the last WYD, in Panama). During their conversation of the Annunciation, the angel also tells Mary that her older cousin, thought to be sterile, is pregnant. After affirming to the angel ” Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word ” (Lk 1:38), it is then that Mary sets out for Ain Karim, a village near Jerusalem where Elizabeth lived and was awaiting the birth of John, who would become Saint John the Baptist.

Mary of Nazareth is the great figure of the Christian journey. She teaches us to say yes to God. She was the protagonist of the last edition of WYD and will be so once again in Lisbon. In the biblical episode of the Visitation, the action of standing up presents Mary as both a woman of charity and a missionary woman. Leaving in haste represents the attitude depicted in Pope Francis’ indications for WYD Lisbon 2023: «may young people’s evangelization be active and missionary, for this is how they will recognize and witness the presence of the living Christ».Addressing young people in particular, and challenging them to be courageous missionaries, the following was written by the Pope in the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit: « Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us everywhere. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some » (CV 177).