World Youth Day

Map of World Youth Day locations. Countries that have hosted at least one WYD are shaded green.

World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church.

World Youth Day 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 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 in their dioceses. It is celebrated at the diocesan level annually and at the international level every two to three years at different locations. The 1995 World Youth Day closing Mass in the Philippines set a world record for the largest number of people gathered for a single religious event with 5 to 10 million attendees— a record surpassed when 6 million attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in the Philippines 20 years later in 2015.

Delegations

Pilgrims at World Youth Day represented the following countries:

Countries and territories represented at the World Youth Day

Philippines

• Metro Manila
• Caloocan
• Las Piñas
• Makati
• Malabon
• Mandaluyong
• Manila
• Marikina
• Muntinlupa
• Navotas
• Parañaque
• Pasay
• Pasig
• Pateros
• Quezon
• San Juan
• Taguig
• Valenzuela
• Ilocos Region
• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• Pangasinan
• Cordillera Administrative Region
• Abra
• Apayao
• Baguio City
• Benguet
• Ifugao
• Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Cagayan Valley
• Batanes
• Cagayan
• Isabela
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Central Luzon
• Angeles
• Aurora
• Bataan
• Bulacan
• Nueva Ecija
• Olongapo
• Pampanga
• Tarlac
• Zambales
• Calabarzon
• Batangas
• Cavite
• Laguna
• Lucena
• Quezon
• Rizal
• Mimaropa
• Marinduque
• Occidental Mindoro
• Oriental Mindoro
• Palawan
• Puerto Princesa
• Romblon
• Bicol Region
• Albay
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Oriental
• Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes
• Masbate
• Sorsogon
• Western Visayas
• Aklan
• Antique
• Bacolod
• Capiz
• Guimaras
• Iloilo City
• Iloilo
• Negros Occidental
• Central Visayas
• Bohol
• Cebu City
• Cebu
• Lapu-Lapu
• Mandaue
• Negros Oriental
• Siquijor
• Eastern Visayas
• Biliran
• Eastern Samar
• Leyte
• Northern Samar
• Ormoc
• Southern Leyte
• Samar
• Tacloban
• Zamboanga Peninsula
• Zamboanga City
• Zamboanga del Norte
• Zamboanga del Sur
• Zamboanga Occidental
• Zamboanga Sibugay
• Northern Mindanao
• Bukidnon del Norte
• Bukidnon del Sur
• Cagayan de Oro
• Camiguin
• Misamis Occidental
• Misamis Oriental
• Iligan City
• Lanao del Norte
• Davao Region
• Davao City
• Davao de Oro
• Davao del Norte
• Davao del Sur
• Davao Occidental
• Davao Oriental
• Soccsksargen
• Cotabato del Norte
• Cotabato del Sur
• General Santos
• Sarangani
• Sultan Kudarat
• Caraga
• Agusan del Norte
• Agusan del Sur
• Butuan
• Dinagat Islands
• Surigao del Norte
• Surigao del Sur
• Surigao Oriental
• Bangsamoro
• Basilan
• Cotabato
• Lanao del Sur
• Maguindanao del Norte
• Maguindanao del Sur
• Sulu
• Tawi-Tawi

Worldwide

• Abkhazia
• Afghanistan
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia
• Åland Islands
• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Aruba
• Azerbaijan
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bonaire
• Brazil
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• The British Virgin Islands
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Cayman Islands
• Chile
• China
• Christmas Island
• Clipperton Island
• Cocos Islands
• Colombia
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cuba
• Curaçao
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Estonia
• Federal Dependencies of Venezuela
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Finland
• French Guiana
• French Polynesia
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Greenland
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Guam
• Guatemala
• Guernsey
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Isle of Man
• Israel
• Italy
• Ivory Coast
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jersey
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Madeira
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Martinique
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mayotte
• Melilla
• Mexico
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Montserrat
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Nagorno-Karabakh
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Navassa Island
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Niue
• Norfolk Island
• North Korea
• Northern Cyprus
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Norway
• Nueva Esparta
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestine
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Puerto Rico
• Qatar
• Réunion
• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Saba
• Saint Barthélemy
• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Andrés and Providencia
• San Marino
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Sint Eustatius
• Sint Maarten
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• Somaliland
• South Korea
• South Ossetia
• South Sudan
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Syria
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tonga
• Transnistria
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States
• United States Virgin Islands
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Vatican City
• Venezuela
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Traditional process

World Youth Day is commonly celebrated in a way similar to many events. The most emphasized and well-known traditional theme is the unity and presence of numerous different 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. 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 among pilgrims which are later traded as souvenirs to other people from different countries of the world. A unity of acceptance among people is also common, with all different 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-kilometer walk as roads and other public transport systems were closed off.

Pope Benedict XVI criticized the tendency to view WYD as a kind of rock festival; 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, Argentina. 1989 WYD took place in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 1991 WYD was held in Częstochowa, Poland. 1993 WYD was celebrated in Denver, Colorado, United States.

1995 to 2005

At WYD 1995, ten million people gathered at the Quirino Grandstand, Luneta Park in Manila, Philippines, an event recognized as the largest crowd ever by the Guinness World Records.

It was surpassed by the 4th and 10th-anniversary celebrations of Catholic Charismatic group El Shaddai to coincidence with the 49th and 55th birthday celebration of Bro. Mike Velarde last August 20 to 21, 1988 and August 20 to 21, 1994 and the 16th-anniversary celebration of Evangelical Charismatic Christian group Jesus is Lord Fellowship to coincidence with the 48th birthday celebration of Bro. Eddie Villanueva last October 9, 1994.

No other than the presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos was the guest of honor during the El Shaddai gatherings.

The participants crowded the 58-hectare park and adjacent areas-Roxas Boulevard, Padre Burgos Drive, Taft Avenue, Pablo Ocampo, Paseo Palisoc, Julian Felipe, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, E. Makabenta, Magdalena Jalandoni, Leandro Locsin, Vicente Sotto, Pedro Bukaneg, Zolio Hilario, Manuel Argilla, Leona Florentino, Atang dela Rama, Jose W. Diokno Boulevard, Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, A. Mabini, Adriatico, Asuncion, Leveriza, Balingkit, Bagong Lipunan, Maginhawa, Lawin, Fidel A. Reyes, Castro, Quirino Avenue, San Andres, Remedios, Julio Nakpil, Alonzo, P. del Carmen, General Miguel Malvar Street, Dr. J. Quintos, Pedro Gil, Padre Faura, U.N. Avenue, Maria Y. Orosa, Churucca, Jorge Bocobo, San Carlos, Arquiza, Grey, A. Flores, Cortada, Marcelo H. del Pilar, L. Guerrero, Plaza Nuestra Senora de Guia, Alhambra, T.M. Kalaw Street, Escoda, Apacible, Leon Guinto Street, Felipe Agoncillo, General Luna, Gonzales, United Nations Avenue, Padre Burgos Avenue, Finance Road, Ayala Boulevard, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Jones Bridge, MacArthur Bridge, Quezon Bridge, Rizal Avenue, Carlos Palanca Sr., P. Casal Street, General Solano, Nicanor Padilla, Gonzalo Puyat Street, Evangelista, Ronquillo, Estero Cegado, Germinal, Trinidad, Mabolo, Sales, Padre Gomez, Platerias, Palma, Carriedo, R. Hidalgo, Plaza Miranda, Villalobos, Z.P. de Guzman, F.R. Hidalgo Street, Carcer, Pasaje del Carmen, Concepcion Aguila, J. Nepomuceno, Arlegui, Fraternal, Vergara, Castillejos, Duque de Alba, Farnecio, Antonio Villegas, Natividad Almeda-Lopez, San Marcelino, Ayala Boulevard, D. Romualdez, Padre Faura, Apacible, Mahatma Gandhi, Angel Linao, Calixto Dyco, Syson, San Jorge, Nieto, Narra, Apitong, Dao, Lauan, Yakal, Mahogany, Tindalo, Narra, Guijo, Cristobal, Paz, Zulueta, Cuevas, Yangco, Leroy, Alfaro, Salvador, 13 de Agosto, Sto. Speulcro, Lopez Jaena, Santiago, Sagat, Felina, Icasiano, Lanuza, Anak Bayan, Singalon, Tirona Benitez, Modesto, San Pascual and San Pedro.

Some of them came to the venue as early as three days before the event. They came not only from Metro Manila, but also from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Baguio City, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Aurora, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Rizal, Romblon, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, Sorsogon, Antique, Aklan, Bacolod City, Guimaras, Iloilo City, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu City, Cebu, Mandaue City, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, Basilan, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Surigao del Norte, Cotabato, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. Also present were from Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Åland Islands, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos Islands, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Federal Dependencies of Venezuela , Finland, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Melilla, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nagorno-Karabakh, Namibia, Nauru, Navassa Island, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Cyprus, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Nueva Esparta, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Andrés and Providencia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Somaliland, South Korea, South Ossetia, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Transnistria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, United States Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In an initial comment immediately following the event, Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, stated that over 4 to 10 million people had participated.

1997 WYD was held in Paris, France. 2000 WYD took place in Rome, Italy. 2002 WYD was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 2005 WYD was celebrated in Cologne, Germany. Thomas Gabriel composed for the final Mass on 21 August 2005 the Missa mundi (Mass of the world), representing five continents in style and instrumentation, in a European Kyrie influenced by the style of Bach, a South American Gloria with guitars and pan flutes, an Asian Credo with sitar, an African Sanctus with drums, and an Australian Agnus Dei with didgeridoos.

Sydney, Australia, 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. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Sydney on 13 July 2008 at Richmond Air Force Base. Cardinal Pell celebrated the Opening Mass at Barangaroo (East Darling Harbour) 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, with the support of Archbishop Cardinal George Pell. The site was closed in 2019.

In December 2012, the xt3 team produced a 'Gangnam Style' Advent video.

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 16–21 August 2011.

There were nine official patron saints for World Youth Day 2011 in addition to Pope St. John Paul II: St. Isidore, St. John of the Cross, St. María de la Cabeza, St. John of Ávila, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Rose of Lima, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Rafael Arnáiz, and St. 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.

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 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in order to avoid any conflict with the 2014 FIFA World Cup being held in 12 different host cities throughout Brazil and the 2016 Summer Olympics being held in Rio de Janeiro. More than 3 Million catholic youth had gathered for the event from across the world.

2016

Pope Francis announced at the end of closing Mass for World Youth Day 2013 that Kraków, Poland, would be the venue for World Youth Day 2016. An estimated three million people attended. Young people from many different countries around the world 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 where he announced that the next World Youth Day will take place in Panama, Central America in 2019. 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 Farell announced that the next World Youth Day will be in Lisbon, Portugal. Originally scheduled to be held in August 2022, the Holy See announced on April 20, 2020, that it will be postponed until August 2023 due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. It is not yet known whether the event will retain the name World Youth Day 2022, or whether it will be changed to reflect the postponement.

2025

At the concluding mass in Lisbon, Portugal, Cardinal Kevin Farell announced that the next World Youth Day will be in Manila, Philippines. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Youth_Day&oldid=879913103