Advertisement

World Youth Day

Pope Francis waves from the window of the Apostolic Palace as he gives his Angelus address for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Announces Catholic Church’s First World Day of Children

Dec 8, 2023

The event was inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Alessandro, who proposed the idea to the pope to have an international event for younger children.

Pope Francis smiles while addressing pilgrims at a vigil gathering on Aug. 5, 2023, at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Invites Young People to be "God’s answer" to a Hopeless World

Nov 14, 2023

The pope’s message on the theme “Rejoicing in Hope,” was released ahead of the next diocesan World Youth Day, to be celebrated on Nov. 26.

Emmanuel Kangayo, the chairman of Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone youth group at the World Youth Day in Lisbon. Credit: Emmanuel Kangayo

Pilgrim at 2023 WYD Remembers Young Sierra Leoneans Dwarfed by Drugs

Aug 21, 2023

"I have been praying for the young people in my country Sierra Leone who are wasting their lives away using drugs such as kush and tramadol, those who do not engage in any meaningful activities because they have lost hope in life," Emmanuel Kangayo tells ACI Africa, sharing how he spent his days at the just ended World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Portugal.

A group of South Koreans pray at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. | Credit: Almudena Martínez-Bordiú / ACI Prensa

The Challenges Facing South Korea in Organizing the Next World Youth Day

Aug 12, 2023

A Mexican missionary in South Korea, a priest from the Diocese of Seoul, and a woman religious from Korea who resides in Spain explained the expectations and difficulties of organizing the next World Youth Day in 2027 to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Our Lady of Fatima statue in Fatima, Portugal. | Photo courtesy of Shrine of Fatima

Miracle at Fátima? World Youth Day Pilgrim Receives Her Sight after Communion at Mass

Aug 7, 2023

“I opened my eyes and I could see perfectly,” said Jimena, a 16-year-old Spanish World Youth Day pilgrim who said she miraculously recovered her sight after receiving the Eucharist at Fátima, Portugal, during a Mass there.

Pilgrims from South Korea wave a flag at Mass with Pope Francis for the closing of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon on Aug. 6, 2023. | Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Next World Youth Day to be in South Korea in 2027

Aug 6, 2023

The next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, South Korea in 2027, Pope Francis announced at the conclusion of the final Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Pope Francis speaks to young people during the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 3, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“Honored”: Kenyan Nun after Faith Influencers Handed Olive Tree From Pope Francis

Aug 4, 2023

Sr. Leunida Katunge is all smiles as she poses with a young potted plant. It is an olive plant that she, alongside other officials, received from Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholic Faith Influencers who are meeting on the sidelines of the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal.

Young people participate in Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis at WYD Stations of the Cross: "Jesus wipes away our hidden tears"

Aug 4, 2023

Pope Francis told the estimated 800,000 young people praying the Stations of the Cross together at World Youth Day in Portugal on Friday evening that Jesus can open the windows of the soul and wipe away all “hidden tears.”

Pope Francis hears the confession of a young pilgrim at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Hears Young People’s Confessions in Lisbon

Aug 4, 2023

As part of the Word Youth Day celebrations this week in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis this morning heard the confessions of three young people in the Jardim Vasco da Gama, renamed Reconciliation Park or “Forgiveness Park” for World Youth Day.

Pope Francis makes his way past crowds of thousands on his way to the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 3, 2023. | Credit: Pablo Pilco/EWTN News

Pope Francis’ First World Youth Day Speech: "God’s heart beats uniquely for you"

Aug 3, 2023

At Pope Francis’ first official World Youth Day event in Portugal, he told the 500,000 young people in the crowd that their presence was no accident and that God has called each one by name.

Pope Francis and José María Del Corral, president of the Scholas Occurrentes youth movement, smile during a meeting with the group's volunteers in Cascais, Portugal, on Aug. 3, 2023. | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

"Attend to the planet and poor," Pope Francis Urges College Students

Aug 3, 2023

In his first encounters with young people ahead of his arrival at World Youth Day later in the day, Pope Francis on Thursday urged his audiences to use their knowledge and skills to care for the planet and the poor.  

Nigerian pilgrims presenting a gift to the Bishop of Fatima-Leirai. Credit: Fr. Hillary Basil/ African Synodal Digital Faith Influencers

Pomp, Colour Marks African Pilgrims Entry, Participation in WYD Celebrations

Aug 2, 2023

Most of them landed in Portugal dressed in colorful attire, a characteristic festive look of Africa.

James Nyumah, 23, from Liberia, (pictured third from left) hangs out with new friends from Australia while attending a "Rise Up" session at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023. | Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Pilgrims From Liberia Overcome Travel Troubles to Attend WYD: "Being here is a miracle"

Aug 2, 2023

They made it “by the grace of God,” 36-year-old Father Ernest Wisner said about the presence of his small group from Liberia at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Hundreds of thousands of people attended the opening Mass for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 1, 2023. | Credit: Julia Silva / JMJ Lisboa 2023

World Youth Day 2023: Lisbon Patriarch Greets Attendees at Opening Mass

Aug 1, 2023

World Youth Day 2023 kicked off in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1 with an opening Mass before a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

Pope Francis addresses the crowd in St. Peter’s Square in his Sunday Angelus on July 16, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

This is Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for August 2023

Aug 1, 2023

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of August is for World Youth Day (WYD).

Some of the Ethiopian youth attending the World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: Ms. Yemesrach Assefa

No Longer a Minority: Ethiopian Youths Thrilled with Large Numbers Thronging 2023 WYD

Jul 31, 2023

Young Catholics from Ethiopia attending the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, have expressed the joy of being part of a bigger community of people who share their faith.

Participants at World Youth Day 2023 in in Lisbon, Portugal. | Credit: José Ferreira/JMJ Lisboa 2023

World Youth Day: 96% of Pilgrims Think Gatherings Contribute to Evangelization

Jul 31, 2023

According to an international survey, 96% of young people over the age of 18 who are attending World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, think these gatherings contribute a lot or quite a bit “to spreading faith in Jesus Christ.”

Outdoor Mass with the WYD Lisbon 2023 volunteers as they prepare for World Youth Day to begin Aug 2. | Photo courtesy of Patricia Neves

8 Unique Things to Know about World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon

Jul 30, 2023

After four years of waiting — one year longer than expected due to the pandemic — and fears that the pope’s health issues would force another postponement, World Youth Day (WYD) 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, will finally take place in a few days, from Aug. 1–6, and it promises to be unique in many ways.

A screenshot from Pope Francis' May 4 video message to young people attending World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis Speaks to Young People Ahead of World Youth Day in "Popecast"

Jul 25, 2023

Ahead of next week’s World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis responded to the prerecorded questions and struggles of young people in Vatican News’ newly produced podcast, dubbed the “Popecast.”

A group of young people left Troyes, France, and will be cycling an average of 56 miles a day, until they reach Celorico de Basto, to participate in the Days in the Dioceses. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Comité Organizador Arciprestal – Celorico de Basto

WYD2023: Pilgrims Cycle to Lisbon; Pope to Receive Bicycles Upon Arrival

Jul 24, 2023

Three pilgrims have already left Kraków, Poland, and another 17 have left Troyes, France, to head to Portugal, where they will participate in World Youth Day 2023 from Aug. 1–6 in Lisbon.