The different groups arrived together July 20, and will stay in Krakow through Aug. 1, the day after the official WYD events have finished.
All members of the Chaldean rite, the youth will meet with other communities from around the world and will share Masses and catechesis sessions together.
On July 22 the group will celebrate a large Chaldean-rite Mass which will be followed by a brief catechism on themes related to the official WYD program.
Other activities the group will participate include a cultural show, during which they will introduce their group with dancing and will wear the traditional clothing from Iraq's Christian villages.
A special catechesis session will be given July 27, in which bishops from around the world will lead a reflection on the WYD theme, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," in different languages. One of the organizers of the Iraqi group will offer a reflection in Arabic.
During the Via Crucis with Pope Francis July 29, a number of the Iraqi youth will form a choir and sing both the Our Father and Psalm 115 in Aramaic in front of the Pope and the rest of the youth from around the world. Aramaic is an ancient language spoken during the time of Jesus and is the language of the Chaldean rite.
Fr. Atto said the choir will be given 10 minutes to sing while the Stations of the Cross are being acted out by youth below.
"Our pilgrims," he said, "will be there with all the youth from all over the world. We are very happy and excited and we are waiting to give this testimony to all the people."
"We know that everyone is waiting for us and watching us, and they want to know about us, our faith," he said, adding that his hope for the Iraqi youth who go is that they "bring with them their faith, improve their faith…and come back with more faith. That's my goal."
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.