Joyful, singing crowds were walking through Lisbon long after the opening Mass of World Youth Day 2023 was over Aug. 1. The atmosphere surprised even those that lived in the Portuguese capital throughout their lives.
"All those people are now on the streets,
Arriving at the edge of the European continent for World Youth Day, Pope Francis urged Portuguese officials to return to their maritime roots by setting sail toward new horizons of hope and helping build a Europe "capable of recovering its youthful heart."
"It
Fifteen-year-old Daiana Fonseca wanted to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon since she first heard about it in 2022. She thought, however, that traveling to Portugal would be impossible for her, a member of a Black rural community in Feira de Santana,
With 80% of people identifying as Catholic, Portugal is among the countries with the highest church presence in Europe. The signs of the nation's intimate relationship with Catholicism are visible all across Lisbon, where thousands of youth have already arrived for World
Polls and personal testimonies demonstrate the significance World Youth Day events have had on individual Catholics and the broader church since Pope St. John Paul II launched them in 1984.
The upcoming celebration of World Youth Day in Lisbon comes at a time when both the world and the Catholic Church — especially in Portugal — is in need of unity amid divisions, uncertainty and conflicts engulfing the world. For Leopoldina Reis
As Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, young Ukrainian Catholics from the U.S. are traveling to World Youth Day with a mix of hope, excitement and urgency.
Some 13 pilgrims from the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia are headed to Lisbon as part
When Pope Francis arrives in Lisbon for World Youth Day 2023, there will be plenty of pilgrims from the U.S. ready to greet him -- close to 29,000.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced July 24 that more than 28,600 individuals, most
Young people today must be open to love and let themselves be led and accompanied by God in the face of life's challenges, Pope Francis said.
In the second edition of the "Popecast," produced by Vatican Media in Italian and released July 25,
When Lisbon, Portugal, was announced in 2019 as the destination for the 17th World Youth Day, few could have imagined how relevant the message of Pope Francis' trip to the Portuguese capital would be for the life of the entire church.
Just two