World Youth Day

POPE FRANCIS WORLD YOUTH DAY LISBON

WYD in Lisbon showed ‘universal dimensions of God’s heart,’ pope says

Although he had an aide read his prepared talk to the people who had organized World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis had a few memories and questions he wanted to share himself. “Thank you, thank you for what you have done,” he told the group Nov. 30. “Thank you for all you set up so that this World Youth Day could be what it was: a strong point of evangelization, joy and youthful expression!”

20230804T0300-POPE-WYD-WELCOME-1763344

Pope to young people at WYD: God calls your authentic, not virtual, self

Before a sea of waving flags representing countries large and small from across the globe, Pope Francis told some 500,000 singing, shouting and swaying young people that God has called each person to him by name, not their social media handle. “You are not here by mistake,” he told the mass of people in Lisbon’s Eduardo VII Park Aug. 3 for the welcome ceremony for World Youth Day. “You, you, you, over there, all of us, me, we were all called by our names.”

WORLD YOUTH DAY KRAKOW

World Youth Day helps inspire young people to serve others, pope says

World Youth Day is an antidote against indifference, isolation and lethargy, Pope Francis said. Since World Youth Days were established by St. John Paul II in 1985, “they have involved, moved, stirred and challenged generations of women and men,” he said in the preface of a new book, “A Long Journey to Lisbon,” by Aura Miguel, a Portuguese journalist for Rádio Renascença. Vatican News published the preface May 2.