World Youth Day

The Latest

Sixteen new priests were ordained Feb. 1–2, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea.

16 priests, 25 deacons ordained in Seoul, site of World Youth Day 2027

Feb 6, 2024

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul recently ordained 16 new priests and 25 new deacons for the archdiocese that will... Read more

Pope Francis waves from the window of the Apostolic Palace as he gives his Angelus address for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.

Pope Francis announces Catholic Church’s first World Day of Children

Dec 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The event was inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Alessandro, who proposed the idea to the pope to have an... Read more

Edoardo Santini.

Italy’s ‘most handsome man’ leaves modeling career to become a priest

Edoardo Santini, considered “the most handsome man in Italy,” has decided to leave his promising career as a model and... Read more

World Youth Day pilgrims in Panama City from the Archdiocese of Seoul.

Archbishop to invite young North Koreans to next World Youth Day in Seoul

Nov 23, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick shared this week that he plans to invite a youth delegation from North Korea to the... Read more

Pope Francis smiles while addressing pilgrims at a vigil gathering on Aug. 5, 2023, at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

Pope Francis invites young people to be ‘God’s answer’ to a hopeless world

Nov 14, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The pope’s message on the theme “Rejoicing in Hope,” was released ahead of the next diocesan World Youth Day, to... Read more

Caleb Perkins, 29, was one of several young men and women from around the world who shared their testimonies in videos played for 800,000 people during the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in August.

From anger to joy: Young convert shares story on World Youth Day stage

Nov 12, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

A convert summarizes his journey to finding a home in the Catholic Church after experiencing family issues that spiraled him... Read more

The Love family, along with Father Andrew St. Hilaire, enjoy their last meal at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

Catholic family of 10 returns home after pilgrimage to World Youth Day and Spain

Aug 26, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Going on a pilgrimage usually brings highs and lows, but the Love family encourages other families to participate in future... Read more

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Pope calls grieving mother of son who died at WYD: ‘He comforted me as if he were my dad’

Aug 19, 2023

By Rachel Thomas

Pope Francis called the mother of a young man, Luca Re Sartù, 24, who has passed away after apparently contracting... Read more

Marina Aleykseyeva, 31, from Kiev, Ukraine, (second from left with a pink baseball cap), together with fellow pilgrims from Ukraine, attended World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1–6, 2023. She said they traveled to the international gathering to pray for peace in their country.

Ukrainian Catholics receive warm reception at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon

Aug 16, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Marina Aleykseyeva, a Ukrainian pilgrim, said “it was unbelievable” how many people stopped them on the streets to say they... Read more

A group of South Koreans pray at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The challenges facing South Korea in organizing the next World Youth Day

Aug 12, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

One priest says that being designated the site of the next WYD is an opportunity “to spread faith in Christ”... Read more

Luke and Tina Nguyen of Seattle with their 14-month-old son, Finn, after the prayer vigil with Pope Francis at Parque Tejo Aug. 5, 2023. The young family attended World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

‘Definitely worth it’: Family attends World Youth Day 2023 with 1-year-old son

Aug 9, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

A young couple from Seattle braved the long flights and big crowds to experience World Youth Day in Lisbon with... Read more

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Father of girl reportedly cured of blindness says it was ‘a gift of the Virgin to WYD’

On Saturday, Aug. 5, in Fátima, Portugal, Jimena said she was cured of a serious eye problem after a novena... Read more

Our Lady of Fatima statue in Fatima, Portugal.

Miracle at Fátima? World Youth Day pilgrim receives her sight after Communion at Mass

“I opened my eyes and I could see perfectly,” said Jimena, a 16-year-old Spanish World Youth Day pilgrim. Read more

Francisco Velarde, a 21-year-old Spaniard, was one of the young people who had the privilege of going to confession with Pope Francis on Friday, Aug. 4, at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

Young man after confession with the pope: ‘I told him the sins that pain me the most’

The 21-year-old Spaniard told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the details of what he considers “the confession of my... Read more

Pilgrims from South Korea wave a flag at Mass with Pope Francis for the closing of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon on Aug. 6, 2023.

Next World Youth Day to be in South Korea in 2027

Aug 6, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The announcement was made at the end of the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. Read more

Speaking from World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, the “City of Joy,” a Iesu Communio (Communion in Jesus) sister shares her vocation story with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Religious sister tells how she discovered her vocation at a WYD thanks to Benedict XVI

The sister related that Pope Benedict XVI spoke “of the Eucharist as a ‘kiss’ and of adoration as a prostration... Read more

From left to right: Sister Mary Grace of the Sorrowful, Sister Mariana of the Wounds of Jesus, the Mother Superior Alma Ruth, and Sister Mary Magdalene of the Sacred Heart.

These cloistered nuns who never leave the convent are at WYD for the first time

Aug 4, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

They never (or almost never) leave the convent, but one lively group of cloistered nuns is participating for the first... Read more

The Love family at the Sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal, during WYD 2023.

Maryland family of 10 is making the most of their first World Youth Day

Aug 4, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Members of the Love family have immersed themselves in WYD 2023 festivities and say their large family has been “treated... Read more

Young people participate in Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023.

Pope Francis at WYD Stations of the Cross: ‘Jesus wipes away our hidden tears’

Aug 4, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The pope’s meditations connected Christ’s sufferings to wounds that young people experience today. Read more

Pope Francis hears the confession of a young pilgrim at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023.

Pope Francis hears young people’s confessions in Lisbon

Aug 4, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Pope Francis on Friday heard the confessions of three young people in the Jardim Vasco da Gama, renamed Reconciliation Park... Read more