AFTER four years of waiting – one year longer than expected due to the pandemic – World Youth Day 2023 begins today in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
This is the first time WYD will take place in Portugal, with hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims arriving from countries across the world, visiting important Catholic sites along the way.
Speaking to a young crowd of pilgrims visiting Fatima, one of the most visited sites in the world, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima said that WYD is an “expression and commitment” to reject “all forms of racism, exploitation and abuse”.
In Porto, Bishop Manuel Linda asked the 25,000 young people who gathered in Parque da Cidade to be “influencers”, “dreamers” and “builders of a new world”.
The Bishop added: “And tell everyone what happened here, as Jesus did. Be tellers of the story of these days. And of parables for today. Just like those of Jesus”.
Pope Francis has visited Portugal once before; in 2017, he went to Fátima for the centenary of the apparitions there. He will pay another visit on this trip.
Organisers have planned for this year’s event to be the most “sustainable” WYD to date.
Pilgrims will use the first carbon footprint calculator in the history of the WYD, which will be included in the WYD Lisbon 2023 app they must install on their mobile phone when arriving in Portugal.
The calculator works on the basis of a questionnaire. By recording their activities from their points of departure for WYD to the last day of the event, pilgrims will be able to discover their estimated carbon footprint by the end of WYD, and with the help of an associated manual, they will learn how to reduce their impact.
Music, art, and culture will be on display throughout Lisbon with more than 500 events to be held throughout the week.
For sports lovers, the first WYD beach volleyball tournament will be held, along with other sports opportunities.
WYD2023 will be the location for the first world meeting of evangelisers and digital missionaries, including Australia’s Fr Rob Galea.
The Festival of Catholic Influencers will take place on August 4, organised by The Church Listens to You project.
The image of Our Lady of Fátima, which has been venerated since 1920 in the Little Chapel of Apparitions in Fátima, will be on the altar in Parque Tejo in Lisbon for the final WYD Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on August 6. The image has only left Fátima 12 times.
