Thousands of young people have headed to Portugal to participate in World Youth Day Lisbon 2023.
After the animation of the “Days in the Dioceses”, it is time to head to Lisbon and prepare for the great meeting of young people with the Pope.
The Salesians in Lisbon are hosting around 4,000 young people from all over the world, and on July 31, we spoke with some of these pilgrims to find out what their expectations are for this great event.
We had the opportunity to speak with Portuguese, Italian, South Korean and Taiwanese pilgrims. For most of them, this is their first participation in a WYD, although some are already on their second, third or even fourth WYD.
Through the testimonies collected, it was possible to realize that the expectations of the pilgrims are quite high, and it is felt in the air that this WYD will be special.
The words left by the pilgrims were of enthusiasm and joy, but also of hope and closeness to God. “I think it will be a day of meeting so many young people, which will be very good on a personal and spiritual level”, tells us Inês Cristóvão, a pilgrim from Mirandela.
Love, fun, sharing, unity, many are the words used by young people to define this World Youth Day. In their backpacks, they bring some “basic” items, such as water bottles, powerbanks or books, but above all, they bring an open heart and the will to live this WYD completely and with great enthusiasm.
