More than 300 delegates from about 100 countries were in Portugal for the International Preparatory Meeting for WYD Lisbon 2023 on 17-19 October. Registration for WYD Lisbon 2023 will open this month.
During these days, an international preparatory meeting was held in Fatima and Lisbon for the World Youth Day that will take place in Lisbon next year.
D. Manuel Clemente, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, was present at the meeting. “It is very necessary to provide not only the Church and young Catholics, but even Portuguese society, of which we are a large part, with an opportunity for rejuvenation: another way of being, of living together, of speaking, of giving opinions, of creating a future. And a World Youth Day is an excellent occasion for this, as we have seen in those that have been held since the 1980s,” said Cardinal Manuel Clemente.
The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, highlighted the importance of this Day, taking place after the pandemic. “It is perhaps one of the most important in the last 30 years, because it is to be reborn again, after a long time, from the Panama WYD”, he explained.
Augusto Santos Silva, President of the Portuguese Parliament, also participated in the International Preparatory Meeting. The President of the Assembly of the Republic said that Portugal is prepared to host the meeting, which is expected to bring together more than a million young people in Lisbon, and believes that the meeting will be a success. “We have already expressed our full support for the WYD, and in particular for WYD initiatives that are directly related to youth participation and civic education,” he said.
WYD Don Bosco 23 was represented at this meeting by Sr. Alzira Sousa, FMA, a member of the co-ordination team, Fr. José Lorbeth Vivo, SDB, a member of the Salesian Youth Pastoral sector, which also accompanies the worldwide Salesian Youth Movement, and Carina Baumgartner, of the Salesian Youth Movement.
.
During the meeting, the Local Organizing Committee (COL) of WYD Lisbon 2023 presented several useful new updates: about registration, prices, packages, plan of the week, volunteering, vocational fair, and other activities that will take place during the week of World Youth Day.
In a note sent to Agencia Ecclesia, the COL clarified that various packages will be available according to the length of stay of the pilgrim. “The values of the packages range from 50 euros to 235 euros, depending on the option chosen” and include accommodation, food, personal accident insurance, transport, and the pilgrim’s kit. Access to all WYD Lisbon initiatives, from August 1 to 6, 2023, is free, namely the Opening Mass, the Pope’s welcome, the Way of the Cross, the Vigil and the Sending Mass.
Registration will open this month of October on the WYD Lisbon 2023 website at lisboa2023.org.
On the last day of the meeting, participants visited the sites in the city of Lisbon related to the preparation and holding of WYD Lisbon 2023.
Package prices range from 50 euros to 235 euros, depending on the option chosen.
Photographs: Agência Ecclesia
