Members of "Priests in Concert" perform to raise money for youth to attend World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. / Photo courtesy of Priests in Concert
Denver, Colo., Jul 16, 2023 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A group of priests who met in se… […]
Pedro Silva, in one of the confessionals that he helped build over the last few months in prison. / Photo courtesy of Clara Raimundo
Lisbon, Portugal, Jul 8, 2023 / 07:35 am (CNA).
Some things take time. Pedro Silva needed to reach the age of 5… […]
Pope Francis registers for World Youth Day 2023 at the end of his Angelus address on Oct. 23, 2022. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Jun 22, 2023 / 10:45 am (CNA).
Just 40 days before World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis said he… […]
A screenshot from Pope Francis’ May 4 video message to young people attending World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Jun 6, 2023 / 11:45 am (CNA).
Pope Francis’ schedule for his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023 was published by the Vatican on Tuesday.
During his Aug. 2–6 visit to the southern European country, the 86-year-old pope will split his time between WYD events and meetings with local government and religious leaders and other organizations.
He will also spend the morning of Aug. 5 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, about 75 miles northeast of Lisbon, where he will pray the rosary with sick young adults in the Marian shrine’s Chapel of Apparitions.
On the evening of Aug. 5, Pope Francis will participate in a vigil with World Youth Day participants at Tejo Park in Lisbon, a green space of more than 220 acres flanked by the Tagus River and with a view of Europe’s second-longest bridge, Vasco da Gama.
The park will be the site for WYD 2023’s main festivities, including Mass with Pope Francis on the final day.
Sunday Mass followed by a meeting with World Youth Day volunteers will be the pope’s final encounters before returning to Rome on the evening of Aug. 6.
The five-day trip will begin with a meeting with Portugal’s Catholic President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa followed by an address to government authorities, civil society members, and the diplomatic corps.
He will later meet with the country’s prime minister, António Costa, before praying vespers with local priests, bishops, seminarians, and consecrated men and women at the 16th-century Jerónimos Monastery, one of Lisbon’s top-visited sites.
On Aug. 3, Francis will meet students from the Portuguese Catholic University before traveling to the Cascais suburb west of Lisbon to spend time with young people from Scholas Occurentes, an international group that promotes education in poor communities.
That afternoon he will take part in his first World Youth Day event, a welcome ceremony at Eduardo VII Park.
On Friday, Aug. 4, Pope Francis will hear confessions, meet representatives of charity organizations, have lunch with young adults, and pray the Stations of the Cross.
The trip will mark Francis’ fourth World Youth Day after taking part in the international Catholic gatherings in Panama, Poland, and Brazil.
World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The weeklong celebration usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people.
The theme of Lisbon’s World Youth Day, which will take place Aug. 1-6, is “Mary arose and went with haste.”
Pope Francis at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. / Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Rome Newsroom, May 22, 2023 / 04:40 am (CNA).
The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day this August with a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.
Pope Francis is set to participate in World Youth Day from Aug. 2 to 6 and is scheduled to visit Fatima on Aug. 5.
The Lisbon trip will mark the 86-year-old pope’s fourth World Youth Day after taking part in the international Catholic gatherings in Panama, Poland, and Brazil.
World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The weeklong celebration usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people.
The event is typically held on a different continent every three years, with the presence of the pope. The Vatican previously announced that World Youth Day would be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lisbon, the capital and largest city in Portugal, is about 75 miles from Fatima, one of the most visited Marian pilgrimage sites in the world where the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.
The theme of Lisbon’s World Youth Day, which will take place Aug. 1–6 is “Mary arose and went with haste.”
Pope Francis sent a video message to the teens and young adults preparing to attend this year’s World Youth Day earlier this month.
“To participate in WYD is something beautiful,” the pope said. “Prepare yourselves with that enthusiasm. Put hope in that. Have hope… because one grows a lot at an event like WYD.”
Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, pictured Dec. 18, 2017 / Drop of Light/Shutterstock.
Rome Newsroom, Jan 4, 2023 / 16:15 pm (CNA).
The president of Portugal has criticized the Vatican’s restriction of official delegations for the f… […]
Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa takes a selfie with volunteers from WYD Lisbon 2023. / Photo credit: WYD Lisbon 2023
Denver Newsroom, Oct 31, 2022 / 13:10 pm (CNA).
The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, registered as a pilgrim for World Youth Day (WYD), to be held in Lisbon Aug. 1-6, 2023. According to the president, the event “will be the largest collective meeting ever in Portugal.”
The Portuguese president visited the headquarters of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) on Oct. 26 to register on the official platform and then invited all Catholics to this international event.
“Mark this week on your calendar and move forward,” he said.
Registration for WYD Lisbon 2023 is now open for pilgrims, volunteers, priests, and bishops through the official registration platform. Registration is also active to participate in the Youth Festival and the Vocational Fair.
The LOC offers package options for pilgrims to access a set of services such as accommodations, food, transportation, security, and a pilgrim’s kit.
Registration is done online by completing a form available in Portuguese, English, Italian, French, and Spanish. Registration instructions will also be available for downloading from the registration platform. The English form is available here.
The official site of WYD Lisbon 2023 explains that the system allows individual or group registration.
“However, very small groups and individual pilgrims are strongly encouraged not to sign up alone but to join larger groups organized by parishes, dioceses, or other communities,” it says.
The LOC notes that the registration system doesn’t require entering the personal data of all pilgrims; only more detailed information is requested on the person in charge and the No. 2 person in charge of the group, priests, disabled people, and people who need a visa to enter Portugal.
“Information is also requested on the number of minors and those over 30 years of age that are part of the group, as well as the date and means of transport for arrival in Lisbon and departure after the end of WYD Lisbon 2023,” the LOC explains.
World Youth Day is a gathering of young people from all over the world with the pope. It was instituted by St. John Paul II in 1985 and since then has represented a time of encounter and exchange for millions of people.
The first event took place in 1986 in Rome, and since then WYD has had several venues: Buenos Aires, Argentina (1987); Santiago de Compostela (1989); Częstochowa (1991); and Denver (1993).
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis invited young people from Portugal to join him in the window of the Apostolic Palace for the World Youth Day announcement. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 23, 2022 / 07:05 am (CNA).
With a click on a tablet in front of the crowd … […]
Pope Francis greets World Youth Day pilgrims in Panama. / Jonah McKeown/CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 12, 2022 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has released his message ahead of the international World Youth Day next year, imploring young pe… […]
St. John Paul II in 1978. / Vatican Media.
Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2022 / 11:30 am (CNA).
Pope St. John Paul II and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be among the patrons of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon.Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the Patriarch of Lisbo… […]
© Catholic World Report