World Youth Day 2011 ( es, Jornada Mundial de la Juventud 2011) was the 2011 occurrence of

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

event held from 16–21 August 2011 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

focused on youth. Media estimated the event's attendance as over a million or 1.5 million.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

revealed the location of the event at the final

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

in Australia at Sydney's

Royal Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters. ...

during

World Youth Day 2008 World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was deci ...

. It was the second time that Spain hosted the event. World Youth Day 1989 was held from 15–20 August 1989 at

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

. Spanish bishops, including Madrid's Metropolitan Archbishop, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, and the coordinator of the World Youth Day 2011, Madrid Auxiliary Bishop César Franco Martínez, urged

to name patrons for the event. Saint Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Saint

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...

, Saint

Isidore the Laborer Isidore the Labourer, also known as Isidore the Farmer ( es, San Isidro Labrador) (c. 1070 – May 15, 1130), was a Spanish farmworker known for his piety toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid, El ...

, Saint Maria Torribia, Saint

Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

, Saint

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

, Saint John of Avila, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint

John of the Cross John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figu ...

, and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

were all designated as co-patrons of World Youth Day 2011. This was Pope Benedict XVI's last World Youth day.

Economics

The event is self-financed by contributions from pilgrims (70%) along with companies and individuals (30%). The state's estimated cost for security and infrastructure is €50 million, while officials estimated that the event would generate as much as €150 million in tourist revenue. Three months after the World Youth Day, the accountancy firm

PriceWaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

released a report estimating that the economic impact of this event was about 354 million Euros in Spain.

Theme

The theme for 2011′s World Youth Day is "Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith" (cf Col 2:7).

Official song

The official song for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid was "Firmes en la fe" ("Firm in the faith"). The song, was composed by Father Enrique Castro, with lyrics by Auxiliary Bishop Cesar Franco of Madrid. The seven verses of the hymn refer to Christ's closeness to young people through his humanity. It was composed based on the WYD 2011 theme, "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith," taken from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians.

Organization

The Cuatro Vientos Airport provided the location for vigil and final mass.

Schedule of events

* 8–15 August :Days in the Dioceses in more than 40 Spanish diocesis * 16 August (Tuesday) :8.00am: Arrival at Madrid: From the early morning, the pilgrims and groups registered in WYD were able to collect their accreditation and backpacks in the places indicated by the organization. :8.00pm: Opening Mass: World Youth Day began with a Mass in Madrid´s Cibeles Square, presided over by the archbishop of Madrid and concelebrated by the bishops and priests participating :9.30pm onwards: Cultural programme * 17 August (Wednesday) :10.00am: Catechesis sessions :9.00pm onwards: Cultural programme (among other events, the

Emmanuel Community The Emmanuel Community is a Catholic association of the faithful of pontifical right, founded in 1972 by Pierre Goursat and Martine Lafitte-Catta, starting from a prayer group belonging to the Catholic charismatic renewal. History The Emmanuel ...

organised the Noche de Alegría in the Madrid Arena sports place) * 18 August (Thursday) :10.00am: Catechesis sessions :12.00pm:

The Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

arrived at the

Barajas Airport Barajas may refer to: *Barajas (Madrid), the district of Madrid in which the airport lies ** Barajas (Madrid Metro), station along Line 8 of the Madrid Metro **Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, principal airport of Madrid, Spain * Barajas ( ...

:2.40pm: The Pope drove through the streets of the city in the

Popemobile The popemobile is a specially designed motor vehicle used by the pope of the Catholic Church during public appearances. It is usually considered the successor to the antiquated and was designed to allow the pope to be more visible when greeting l ...

to reach the Nunciature. :7.30pm: Papal Welcome Ceremony with youth at Plaza de Cibeles :9.00pm onwards: Cultural programme * 19 August (Friday) :10.00am: Catechesis sessions :11.30am: Papal Meeting at

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

young religious sisters and university professors :7.30pm: Via crucis along the

Paseo de Recoletos Paseo de Recoletos is a wide boulevard in central Madrid leading from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Colón. From west to east it consists of: * Two southward lanes * The pedestrian walk * A southward bus lane * Three southward lanes * Three nort ...

:9.00pm onwards: Cultural programme *20 August (Saturday) :10.00am: Mass for seminarians in the Almudena Cathedral :4.00pm: Preparatory ceremony in Cuatro Vientos: Young people arrived at the Cuatro Vientos Airport and took their places. Meanwhile, different activities took place on the stage (testimonies of young people, musical interpretations, prayers to the Virgin, etc.), to prepare for the Vigil. :7.40pm: Pope visited the "Fundación Instituto San José", a center for the sick run by the :es:Orden Hospitalaria de San Juan de Dios :8.30pm: Vigil with the Pope: The Pope arrived at Cuatro Vientos to celebrate an Eucharistic adoration. :11.00pm: Night in Cuatro Vientos: From early in the morning, pilgrims arrived at Cuatro Vientos, but were not able to adore the eucharist as planned because of the storm that damaged the chapels. The stage was designed by Ignacio Vicens, an architect who had assisted with World Youth Day celebrations during the time of John Paul II. The number of people attending exceeded expectations, which means more land had to be found round the edges to accommodate the people. An estimated 1,000,000 were in the aerodrome at seven o'clock in the evening, which made this the largest Catholic event ever staged in Spain. Many pilgrims walked from the centre of Madrid (12.6 km), although extra public transport was put on. The Pope arrived and a cross was carried in procession to the altar. Several young people were picked to ask questions to the Pope, but a sudden thunderstorm and high winds, meant that the Pope's address had to be communicated to the crowd in written form. The Pope resumed the adoration of the Eucharist, after the rain, although with a shortened programme. A mass with distribution of the Eucharist to many in the crowd had to be reduced in dimension. Many stayed during the night, and the Sunday morning mass took on a larger dimension to make up for the day before. *21 August (Sunday) :9.30am: Final Mass: The Pope concelebrated Mass with thousands of bishops and priests. At the end of the concluding Mass, the Pope announced the place where the next edition of World Youth Day would be held. :5.30pm: Encounter with Volunteers: Pope Benedict XVI had a brief meeting with the WYD volunteers at the :es:IFEMA :6.30 pm: Papal Farewell ceremony at the Barajas Airport

Protests

On 17 August a demonstration against public funding of the World Youth Day and for a Spanish secular state took place in Madrid. The protesters were confronted by

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

with truncheons. Eight people were arrested and eleven were injured. Protests centred on the Pope and the number of protestors never reached beyond a few thousand. No WYD events were interrupted by their demonstrations. There were a few scuffles between pilgrims and the protestors.

Next event

On 21 August 2011, at the closing Mass, the Pope revealed that the next event will be held in 2013 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The location was leaked a few months before this however.

World Youth Day 2013 World Youth Day 2013 ( pt, Jornada Mundial da Juventude de 2013), stylized WYDRio2013, was the 14th international World Youth Day, an international Catholic event focused on religious faith and youth. The host city of World Youth Day 2013 was ...

was held 2 years later, due to Brazil's hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

References

External links

World Youth Day

The official website for World Youth Day 2011, Spain
{{History of the Catholic Church 2011 in Spain 2011 riots Catholic Church in Spain Political riots Religion in Madrid Riots and civil disorder in Spain 2011 2011 in Christianity 2011 in Madrid Pope Benedict XVI August 2011 events in Europe