One month until World Youth Day, a look at the numbers

By Clara Raimundo

Lisbon, Portugal, Jul 2, 2023 / 07:00 am

More than 600,000 people have started the registration process.

Nearly 3 million lunches and dinners have been ordered.

Ten thousand priestly vestments are being made. And at least 7,000 host families have volunteered to open their homes to pilgrims.

These are among the latest statistics released by organizers of World Youth Day, which will take place a month from now in Lisbon, Portugal.

The international celebration of the Catholic faith taking place Aug. 1–6 brings together young people and others from around the world to meet and pray with Pope Francis.

An update on preparations of the event released June 30 included the following:

• 663,000 people have begun the registration process, and 313,000 from 151 countries have completed their registrations.

• The three countries with the most completed registrations so far are Spain (58,531), Italy (53,803), France (41,055), and Portugal (32,771).

• 14,435 Americans are fully registered.

• 70% of those fully registered (214,500) requested accommodations. So far, through the parishes in the host dioceses (which correspond to the capital region, Lisbon, and the neighboring regions of Santarém and Setúbal), 7,138 families have registered and are available to welcome young pilgrims in their homes, and more than 470,000 other places to stay overnight have been identified (namely in schools and sports clubs).

• 90% of those fully registered (289,000 pilgrims) have requested meals. The JMJ Lisbon 2023 Foundation already has contracted with thousands of participating restaurants and other establishments to provide almost 3 million lunches and dinners.

• 32,717 have started the process of registering as volunteers for the event, with 22,282 completing their registrations so far. Of these, 500 are doctors, nurses, or students completing their degree in the health field and will provide first aid to all pilgrims throughout the week of the meeting.

• 698 bishops and 29 cardinals have registered to attend World Youth Day. The countries sending the most prelates are Italy (113), Spain (77), the United States (76), France (75), and Portugal (45).

• 10,000 vestments are being made for these cardinals and bishops and thousands of priests.

• 2,600 priests have already volunteered to be in “Reconciliation Park,” a place where 150 confessionals will be set up between Aug. 1-4. Confessions will be offered in the five official languages of this World Youth Day: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and Italian.

• Portugal’s National Association of Protein Producers, Oilseeds and Cereals have donated two tons of Portuguese wheat for the manufacture of Communion hosts, which are being produced by the Clarisse Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Monastery in Lisbon.

• To date, organizers have received 2,069 media requests to cover the event.

Registration information and answers to other frequently asked questions are available here. 

Clara Raimundo is a Portuguese journalist who works for 7MARGENS, a digital newspaper that specializes in religion and human rights topics. She studied religious journalism at the Catholic University of Lisbon and has been the editor in chief of My Pope Magazine in Portugal.