World Youth Day 2023 () was the 2023 installment of

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

, a recurring

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

festival. The 2023 event was held in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, which was announced at World Youth Day 2019 in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. About 354,000 pilgrims from more than 200 countries were registered, including 688 bishops, and the event was aided by 25,000 volunteers. The closing Vigil and Mass had an estimated 1.5 million attendees. This was

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

's last World Youth Day as he would pass away on April 21, 2025.

Host city

The host city for a 2022 event, was announced by Pope Francis and Bishop

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

at the end of the closing

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

of the World Youth Day 2019 event in Panama City. in the presence of thousands of young people from all over the world, including 300 Portuguese young people. Also present were the

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon (, ), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the few patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, along wi ...

Manuel Clemente Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, GCC (; born 16 July 1948), officially Manuel III, is a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the Metropolitan Patriarch of Lisbon from 2013 to 2023 and a cardinal since 14 February 201 ...

, the president of the Portuguese Republic,

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

, the secretary of state for Youth and Sports, João Paulo Rebelo, representing the

Government of Portugal A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

, and the mayor of Lisbon,

Fernando Medina Fernando Medina Maciel Almeida Correia (born 10 March 1973) is a Portuguese economist and politician Socialist Party (PS) who served as Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister António Costa from 2022 to 2024. He previously served ...

, as well as ambassadors, six bishops (from the dioceses of Lisbon, Guarda, Coimbra, Braga and Bragança-Miranda) and several priests. In a press conference, the president of the Episcopal Conference of Portugal (CEP) said that he expected to receive between 1 and 2 million young people in the summer of 2022 and added that the "more than probable" place for the conclusive events of WYD 2022 will be the margin north of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

river, next to the Sea of Palha, in

, and that evokes the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

where Jesus walked. The

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

announced on 20 April 2020 that the event would be postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It was rescheduled for 1–6 August 2023. Although the main event took place next to the ''Parque do Tejo'' in

, with new infrastructures built under the coordination of architect

António Maria Braga António Maria Braga is a Portuguese architect, who specializes in traditional Portuguese architecture. Together with the architect Alberto Castro Nunes, he was the 8th winner of the Rafael Manzano Prize for New Traditional Architecture, awarded ...

, there were also expected pilgrimages from the participating youth to the National Sanctuary of Christ the King, in

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 20 ...

, to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, in

Cova da Iria Cova da Iria is a quarter in the city and civil parish of Fátima, in Portugal. Most of the reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children from the town took place here in 1917. This neighborhood is considered a ...

, and also to the

birthplace The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

of Saint Anthony of Lisbon (or Padua). Some unwelcome revelations for the Church of Portugal arose ahead of the World Youth Day celebration, including sanctions against and investigations into bishops affiliated with Portugal.

Patrons and intercessors

The patrons of the World Youth Day 2023 are Catholic figures who, in their youth, took decisive steps on the path to holiness: * Saint

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

(pope) * Saint

John Bosco John Melchior Bosco, Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB (; ; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco or Dom Bosco (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer. While working in Tu ...

(priest and founder of the Salesian Congregation) * Saint

Vincent of Saragossa Vincent of Saragossa (also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon), the Protomartyr of Spain, was a deacon of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza, Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon, Algarve, a ...

(deacon and martyr) * Saint Anthony of Lisbon (Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church) * Saint Bartolomeu dos Mártires (Dominican friar and Catholic archbishop) * Saint

John de Brito John de Britto, SJ (also Brito; ; also known as Arul Anandar; 1 March 1647 – 4 February 1693) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and an evangelist, often called "the Portuguese St. Francis Xavier" by Indian Catholics. He is also called "the Jo ...

(Jesuit missionary and martyr) And the blessed: * Blessed Joana of Portugal and Coimbra (Portuguese princess and Dominican nun) * Blessed João Fernandes (young Jesuit and martyr) * Blessed Maria Clara of the Child Jesus (founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception) * Blessed

Pier Giorgio Frassati Pier Giorgio Frassati, TOSD (6 April 1901 – 4 July 1925) was an Italian Catholic activist and a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He was dedicated to social justice issues and joined several charitable organizations, including Catholi ...

(young layman) * Blessed Marcel Callo (young scout and martyr) * Blessed

Chiara Badano Chiara Badano (October 29, 1971 – October 7, 1990) was an Italian teenager who has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. At age nine she joined the Focolare Movement and received the nickname "Luce" ("light") by the founder Chiara Lubi ...

(young laywoman of the

Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organisation of spiritual and social renewal and Christian new religious movement that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brother/sisterhood grounded in the Golden Rule. It was founded by then e ...

) * Blessed

Carlo Acutis Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was a British-born teenager, primarily of Italian ancestry, known for his devotion to the Eucharist, with him creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles prior to his death from leukemia at ...

(young layman) Additionally, the official website of the WYD mentioned the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as the "patroness par excellence" of the event.

Devotion

The sculpture number 1 of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima traveled, in the early hours of 21 January 2019, to

to be present at the World Youth Day 2019, evoking the memory of the Marian imprint that

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

wished to print at the creation of these great Catholic religious events. Continuing this spirit, at the World Youth Day 2023 the young people will be especially invited to pray and to deepen the main devotion recommended in the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the

, in

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

, in particular the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

Theme

On 22 June 2019, Pope Francis announced that the theme of the event would be "Mary arose and went with haste" (

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

1:39). This Bible verse also takes into account the start of her visitation with her cousin Elizabeth. The pope also called on Catholics to prepare for the 2023 World Youth Day by meditating on two scriptural passages: Luke 7:14, "Young man, I say to you, Arise!"; and a re-working of

Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-par ...

26:16, "Stand up. I appoint you as a witness of what you have seen".

Journey

A number of activities occurred throughout the World Youth Day. The "City of Joy" was the term given to the combined area containing the Vocations Fair (for learning about religious orders and other organizations) and the Park of Forgiveness (for receiving the Sacrament of Penance). "Rise Up Encounters" included activities allowing pilgrims to reflect on

' themes of Integral Ecology, Social Friendship and Mercy. Interreligious events provided guided visits to a Muslim mosque, Hindu temple, Jewish synagogue, and three historic Catholic churches.

Preparations

On July 25,

spoke on a podcast, dubbed the "Popecast", in which he addressed prepared questions from youth, ending with an encouragement for youth around the world to take part in World Youth Day, saying that they would find it fulfilling, with its community, celebration, hope, and joy. On July 27, all event volunteers participated in the "Missionary Gesture" to share World Youth Day with the most vulnerable. Over 600 institutions, such as hospitals and prisons, were visited.

1 August

The event was officially opened on August 1 with an open-air Mass celebrated by

Eduardo VII Park Edward VII Park () is a public park in Lisbon, Portugal. The park occupies an area of to the north of Avenida da Liberdade and Marquis of Pombal Square in Lisbon's city center. The park is named for King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, who v ...

, with an estimated 180,000-310,000 people present.

2 August

Pope Francis arrived in Portugal to attend the event for a five day period.

3 August

A welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis took place at Parque Eduardo VII in the afternoon.

4 August

A "Catholic Influencers Festival" for

social media influencers A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

was hosted by the Vatican's

Dicastery for Communication The Dicastery for Communication (, ) is a department (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed through its website. These are the ...

, advertised as "the 1st world in-person meeting of digital missionaries". Pope Francis personally heard the confessions of three young people. In the evening, the pontiff led the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

in Edward VII Park. Rather than traveling to the different stations, he was led out onto the stage in a wheelchair and watched as a performance troupe choreographed each of the 14 stations. An estimated 800,000 young people attended.

5 August

Pope Francis visited Fátima in the morning. In his remarks, he called for the

to be given the new title "Our Lady in a Hurry", relating to the theme of World Youth Day and describing how Mary hastens to care for her children. A 16-year-old girl Spanish World Youth Day pilgrim named Jimena who visited Fátima on the same day was reported to have miraculously recovered from 95%

vision loss Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

during mass at the site. In the afternoon, over 1.5 million pilgrims walked to Parque Tejo in near 100-degree heat in preparation for an evening vigil featuring Eucharistic adoration, presided by Pope Francis. The pontiff decided not to use his prepared remarks during his speech where he called the young people in attendance to be "joyous missionaries".

6 August

Pope Francis celebrated mass on Sunday morning, with an estimated 1.5 million people in attendance. Following the mass, Pope Francis announced that World Youth Day 2027 would be held in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. In addition, a special event for young people would be held in Rome in 2025 to coincide with the Jubilee Year. This special event, the Jubilee for Teenagers, was originally intended to include the canonization of

. Due to the death of Pope Francis, the canonization was postponed and many teenagers attended the

funeral of Pope Francis On 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday), at 07:35 CEST (UTC+2), Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo, in a broadcast by Vatican Media and in ...

instead. It just so happened that this special event, the Jubilee for Teenagers, occurred on the same weekend. Pope Francis concluded with a special prayer for

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(due to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

) and said that he possesses a "dream of peace, the dream of young people praying for peace, living in peace and building a peaceful future."

Logotype

The WYD symbol was created by Portuguese designer Beatriz Roque Nunes (then 24 years old), who had studied in London and at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon. The logotype was unveiled on October 16, 2020. The central element of the logo, the Cross of Christ, clearly symbolizes the

Christian religion Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New ...

, "God's infinite love for humankind". The color palette chosen —red, yellow and green— represents the

flag of Portugal The national flag of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms, hoist, and r ...

. In white, dividing the cross in half, a path is evoked, not only that which

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

travels "to live the will of God", but also that traversed by young people seeking their "renewal of inner strength, their dreams, the enthusiasm, the hope and the gratitude" ( Christus Vivit, 20). A dynamic-looking yellow touch also symbolizes the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, and above it is a

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

celebrating the Portuguese devotion to

Our Lady of Fatima Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...

, to which many go on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. Finally, the profile of

as a young woman, as depicted in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

(Lk 1:39), stands out.

Official theme song

With lyrics by Father Paulo Vaz and music by Pedro Ferreira, both from the Diocese of Coimbra, the official hymn "There's a Rush in the Air" was released on January 27, 2021. The lyrics are based on the verse "Mary arose and ran with haste" (Lk 1:39), thus portraying Mary's "yes" and her haste to go and meet her cousin

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, as the biblical passage relates. The official theme was recorded in two versions: Portuguese and international, the latter containing similar versions of the stanza sung in Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and Italian.

References

External links

World Youth Day 2023

Living Fatima at WYD 2023
{{History of the Catholic Church

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Pope Francis Catholic Church in Portugal Foreign trips by popes 2023 in Portugal 2023 in Christianity History of Lisbon Events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic August 2023 in Portugal