World Youth Day (WYD) is a meeting of young people from all over the world with the Pope. It is a pilgrimage, a youth festival, an expression of the universal Church and a strong moment of evangelization of the youth world.
With a clearly Catholic identity, it is open to everyone, whether they are closer or further away from the Church.
Since its first edition, which took place in the city of Rome, in 1986, World Youth Day has proved to be a laboratory of faith, a birthplace of vocations and an instrument of evangelization and transformation of the Church, always trying to reach new generations of Catholics, thus making the word of God known.
WYD aims to provide all participants with an experience of the universal Church, fostering a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. It is a new impetus to the faith, hope and charity of the entire community in the host country.
With young people as protagonists, World Youth Day will be for the Church “a moment of revitalization that will put the dynamism of the Portuguese Church to the test”, said Archbishop of Lisbon, Cardinal Manuel Clemente.
