World Youth Day is a meeting of young people from all over the world with the Pope in a festive, religious and cultural atmosphere.
With young people as its protagonists, World Youth Day (WYD) also seeks to promote peace, unity and fraternity between peoples and nations from all over the world.
It is simultaneously a pilgrimage, a festival of youth, an expression of the universal Church and a powerful moment of evangelization for the world of youth. As a Catholic event, WYD Lisbon 2023 is open to all young people.
It was instituted in 1985 by Pope John Paul II and, since its beginning, it has mobilised millions of young people of almost every nationality in the world.
World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 is a celebration of the world that will take place, for the rst time, in Lisbon, from 1 to 6 of August 2023. Some of the young people will arrive during the week before and they will be spread throughout the Portuguese dioceses.
For a week, young people from all over the world will be welcomed in public infrastructures and parish facilities or in family homes. In addition to moments of prayer and sharing, the registered young people take part in various cultural, musical and sports initiatives in di erent locations in Lisbon. The highlights of WYD Lisbon 2023 are the celebrations with the presence of the Pope, namely the Way of the Cross, the vigil and, on the last day, the sending-o Mass. The motto chosen by Pope Francis for the XXXV World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 is Marian. "Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39) serves as the inspiration for the WYD hymn "There is haste in the air" and for the logo that appears on this special CTT collection, which celebrates this event, which is of particular importance for the city of Lisbon and for Portugal.
WYD Lisbon 2023 is a unique opportunity for dialogue and cooperation between the Church and Civil Society and among all nations, for the construction of a more just and fraternal society, where everyone has a place.
We are all called to live World Youth Day Lisbon 2023, as pilgrims, as a people and as community!
