World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

organized by the

Catholic Church 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 ...

that was initiated by

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 ...

in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where during summer camps Catholic young adults over 13 days of camp celebrated a "day of community". For the first celebration of WYD in 1986, bishops were invited to schedule an annual youth event to be held every

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

in their dioceses. Nicknamed "The Catholic Woodstock", it is celebrated at the diocesan level annually—in most places on Palm Sunday from 1986 to 2020, and from 2021 on Christ the King Sunday—and at the international level every two to four years at different locations. The 1995 World Youth Day 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 ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

set a world record for the largest number of people gathered for a single religious event with 5 million attendees. This record was surpassed when 6 million attended a Mass celebrated by

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 ...

—again in the

—20 years later in 2015.

Traditional process

The most emphasized and well known traditional theme is the unity and presence of numerous cultures. Flags and other national declarations are displayed among mainly young people to show their attendance at the events and proclaim their own themes of

Catholicism 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 ...

. Such is usually done through chants and singing of other national songs involving a Catholic theme. Over the course of the major events taking place, national objects are traded between pilgrims. Flags, shirts, crosses, and other Catholic icons are carried amongst pilgrims which are later traded as souvenirs to other people from different countries. A unity of acceptance among people is also common, with all cultures coming together to appreciate one another. Other widely recognized traditions include the Pope's public appearance, commencing with his arrival around the city in the " Popemobile" and then with his final Mass held at the event. A festival in Sydney (2008) recorded an estimated distance of a 10-kilometre walk as roads and other public transport systems were closed off.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

criticized the tendency to view WYD as a kind of

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular eve ...

; he stressed that the event should not be considered a "variant of modern youth culture" but as the fruition of a "long exterior and interior path".

History

1987 to 1993

1987 WYD was held in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. 1989 WYD took place in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. 1991 WYD was held in Częstochowa,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. 1993 WYD was celebrated in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

1995 to 2005

At WYD 1995, 5 million youths gathered at Luneta Park in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, an event recognized as the largest crowd ever by the Guinness World Records. In an initial comment immediately following the event, Cardinal Angelo Amato,

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, stated that over 4 million people had participated. 1997 WYD was held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 2000 WYD took place in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 2002 WYD was held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. 2005 WYD was celebrated in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany. Thomas Gabriel composed for the final

on 21 August 2005 the ''Missa mundi'' (Mass of the world), representing five continents in style and instrumentation, in a European ' influenced by the style of Bach, a South American ' with guitars and pan flutes, an Asian ' with sitar, an African ' with drums, and an Australian ' with

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

2008

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

, was chosen as the host of the 2008 World Youth Day celebrations. At the time it was announced in 2005, WYD 2008 was commended by the then Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, and the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. World Youth Day 2008 was held in Sydney, with the Papal Mass held on the Sunday at Randwick Racecourse. The week saw pilgrims from all continents participate in the Days in the Diocese program hosted by Catholic dioceses throughout Australia and New Zealand.

arrived in Sydney on 13 July 2008 at Richmond Air Force Base. Cardinal Pell celebrated the Opening Mass at Barangaroo (East

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

) with other activities including the re-enactment of Christ's passion during the Stations of the Cross and the Pope's boat cruise through Sydney Harbour. Pilgrims participated in a variety of youth festivities including visits to St Mary's Cathedral, daily catechesis and Mass led by bishops from around the world, concerts, visits to the tomb of Saint Mary MacKillop, the Vocations Expo at Darling Harbour, reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and praying before the Blessed Sacrament during Adoration. The Mass and concert at Barangaroo saw an estimated crowd of 150,000. The event attracted 250,000 foreign visiting pilgrims to Sydney, with an estimated 400,000 pilgrims attending Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI on 20 July. On 12 June 2008, Xt3.com, a Catholic social online network and news site, was launched as the Official Catholic Social Network of WYD. It was considered to be a direct fruit of WYD08, just as Salt + Light Television was a direct fruit of World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. The name was an abbreviation for "Christ in the Third Millennium" and is operated by the Archdiocese of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, with the support of

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Cardinal George Pell. The site was closed in 2019. In December 2012, the xt3 team produced a 'Gangnam Style' Advent video. WYD-2008

In May 2007, it was reported that Guy Sebastian's song " Receive the Power" had been chosen as official anthem for World Youth Day (WYD08) to be held in Sydney in 2008. The song was co-written by Guy Sebastian and Gary Pinto, with vocals by Paulini. "Receive the Power" was used extensively throughout the six days of World Youth Day in July 2008 and also in worldwide television coverage. In November 2008, a 200-page book, ''Receive the Power'', was launched to commemorate World Youth Day 2008.

2011

Following the celebration of Holy Mass at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on 20 July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced that the next International World Youth Day 2011 would be held in Madrid, Spain. This event was held from 16 to 21 August 2011. There were nine official patron saints for World Youth Day 2011 in addition to Pope John Paul II: Isidore, John of the Cross, María de la Cabeza, John of Ávila, Teresa of Ávila, Rose of Lima, Ignatius of Loyola, Rafael Arnáiz, and Francis Xavier patron of world missions. During his address to seminarians, Benedict announced that the Spanish mystic and patron of Spanish diocesan clerics St. John of Ávila would become a "Doctor of the Church", a designation granted to only 34 saints throughout the twenty centuries of church history. An estimated 2,000,000 people attended an all-night vigil to complete the week, more than expected. Francisco Papa Jornada Mundial de la Juventud Rio de Janeiro Julio 2013 A

2013

Since 2002, World Youth Day has been held every three years. After the 2011 event the next World Youth Day was scheduled a year earlier than usual, in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, in order to avoid any conflict with the 2014 FIFA World Cup being held in 12 host cities throughout Brazil and the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

being held in Rio de Janeiro. More than 3 Million catholic youth had gathered for the event from across the world.

2016

announced at the end of closing Mass for World Youth Day 2013 that

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, would be the venue for World Youth Day 2016. An estimated three million people attended. Young people from many countries took part in the week-long event which began on 25 July 2016, and ended on 31 July 2016 with an open-air mass led by Pope Francis at Campus Misericordiae. The theme for this year's World Youth Day was "Blessed Are The Merciful, For They Shall Obtain Mercy", tying in closely with the Year of Mercy, which was initiated by Pope Francis on 8 December 2015 and concluded 20 November 2016.

2019

At the Concluding Mass for World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków, Pope Francis announced that Panama City would host World Youth Day in 2019. The World Youth Day was held from Tuesday 22 January until Sunday 27 January.

2023

At the concluding mass in Panama City, Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced that the next World Youth Day would be 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 ...

. Originally scheduled to be held in August 2022, 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 it was postponed to August 2023 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 ...

. 1.5 million pilgrims attended, in particular, the overnight vigil and the concluding mass.

2027

The 2027 World Youth Day will be in Seoul, South Korea as announced by Pope Francis during the concluding mass at Parque Tejo in Lisbon.

Chronology of celebrations

^{Note 02}This lists languages used in the main international version of the anthem. Local versions of the anthem in other languages (and alternate versions) may have also been produced.

Diocesan

Typical schedule of events

International level

Diocesan level

At the diocesan level celebrations are decided by a local team usually appointed by the ordinary. From 1986 to 2020, these celebrations usually occurred during

. They almost always included the Mass of Passion Sunday – when Jesus' entry to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in his final days is commemorated. However, on 22 November 2020, Pope Francis has moved the Diocesan Celebration of World Youth Day from Palm Sunday to the Sunday of the Solemnity of Christ the King starting in 2021. Since then, they almost always includes the Mass of the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe - the day of the eschatological importance of Jesus. Music, prayer, reconciliation opportunities, as well as adoration of the Blessed Sacrament may also be part of the celebrations.

Notes

References

External links

Official World Youth Day website

Vatican World Youth Day website

WYD Seoul 2027

WYD Lisbon 2023

WYD Sydney 2008

WYD Kraków 2016

WYD Panama 2019

WYD page from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

{{Authority control Youth events Catholic youth organizations Pope John Paul II Recurring events established in 1984 March observances April observances May observances November observances Christian festivals and holy days Holidays and observances by scheduling (varies)