Vocations are another area of heavy emphasis during the event. Groups of priests, nuns and religious can be seen throughout the main areas of the WYD events approaching youth and handing them holy cards as they engage with them on faith and their communities.
Nothing, however, can outdo the excitement the youth feel about meeting thousands of their peers from all over the world and seeing Pope Francis in person.
Maria, a young woman born in Guayaquil, Ecuador but who is now living in Orlando, Fl., told CNA that this is her first WYD, and the fact that it's being led by a Latin American Pope is "awesome."
Even though she has lived in the United States since she was a toddler, Maria had a lot of family still living in Ecuador, and because of that was invited to travel to WYD with their group.
"I honestly didn't expect it to be this big or to be as organized, but you feel the warmth of everyone and people give you so many nice gifts and it's an amazing experience," she said, adding even though WYD hasn't officially started, everything she has expected "has really just come true."
"There's so much going on, there's so many people that I've met, and I've learned new languages like Polish and German. It's been great. It's met all of my expectations if not exceeded them."
Likewise, Majd, a youth from Australia, told CNA that his group arrived to Krakow Sunday, and that so far, "our experience here is absolutely lit."
"It's excellent, I love it. It's really fun, fantastic," he said, explaining that before coming to Krakow, their group traveled for 24 hours to get to Italy, where they visited important sites in Assisi, Siena, Florence and Pisa before heading to Warsaw, Czestochowa and finally Krakow.
Having participated in the 2008 WYD in Sydney, Majd said that despite having spent only a few days in Poland, he so far prefers the Krakow experience.
"The area is quite nice, the culture here is amazing, the people here are really welcoming. I really want to see more people," he said, adding that for him, "there's a lot more things I could probably learn from here than I would in Australia."
Majd said this will be his first time seeing Pope Francis in person, and that he's really looking forward to participating in Mass with Pope July 31 to mark the official close of WYD.
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"I think it'd be great to see him, especially if I could see him up close. If I could get that I'm going to love it," he said, explaining that he's anxious to hear Francis talk about the Year of Mercy.
"I want to hear him talk about the Year of Mercy, how we can be better, how we can show mercy to others. I really want to learn a lot from him," Majd said, saying he believes WYD will "definitely make the Jubilee better for us."
"I'm hoping that this will definitely deepen my faith and that I can bring a lot of great souvenirs from here and that my family would learn from me my ways and the ways of Him."
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.
Kate Olivera is executive producer of Catholic News Agency's podcasts: CNA Newsroom and CNA Editor's Desk. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has worked at Catholic News Agency since 2012; and was previously a staff writer at The Catholic Voice in the Archdiocese of Omaha.