The World Youth Days are a journey initiated by Saint John Paul II to respond to young people’s desire for encounter, peace and truth. A journey of faith and evangelization that continues throughout history.
Massimiliano Menichetti Vatican City
“Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have” was the motto of the first World Youth Day. In St. Peter’s Square, on Palm Sunday, March 23, 1986, John Paul II has the eyes of young people from all over the world in his heart: “Today you are here again, dear young people, friends, to start in Rome.” , but on the Peter’s Square, the tradition of the Youth Day to which the whole Church is invited, I greet you with all my heart and I greet all who have come here, not only from Rome and Italy but also from beyond.”
“Youth Day,” he explains, “means just that: to meet God, who entered human history through the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. And in an irreversible way. It means: “Follow me, I am the way, the truth and the life”.
There were 900,000 young people who prayed with the Pope in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in April 1987, double the number the previous year. The motto of WYD is “In this way we know the love that God has for us and we trust in that love.” John Paul II addresses the youth of South America, the “continent of hope”: “Young people, Christ, the Church, the world await the testimony of their lives based on the truth Christ has revealed to us! Young people, the Pope thanks you for your witness and encourages you to always be witnesses of God’s love, sowers of hope and builders of peace!”
World Youth Day 1987 in Argentina
Three months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989, WYD youth gathered in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. From August 15th to 20th they pray for peace. The motto is: “I am the way, the truth and the life”.
More than 600,000 young people join the vigil on Mount Gozo. “You have come here, in Santiago, to rediscover the roots of our faith”, exhorts John Paul II, “to work with a generous heart for the ‘new evangelization’, now at the threshold of the third millennium”. Then he adds: “The Christian is called to serve his brethren and society, to promote and uphold the dignity of every human being, to respect, defend and promote the rights of the person, and to be the architect of a lasting and authentic peace.” in the Fraternity, in liberty, justice and truth”.
WYD in Santiago de Compostela, 1989
WYD anthem in Spain in 1989
WYD 1991 Europe has new borders and horizons after the fall of the communist regime. The Polish Pope invites the youth of the world to believe in Christ. 1.5 million believers gather in Czestochowa. On the esplanade in front of the Shrine of Jasna Góra, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, John Paul II affirmed that this World Youth Day is something special: “It is the first time that such a large number of young people have taken part in this World Youth Day people from Eastern Europe”. “How can we not see that as a great gift of the Holy Spirit?” he asks. Together with you I would like to thank him today. After the long period of practically insurmountable frontiers, the Church in Europe can now breathe freely with both lungs”.
Czestochowa, Poland, WYD 1991
In August 1993, the Way of the Cross took place on the streets of Denver, United States for the first time at World Youth Day. During a vigil with young people at Cherry Creek State Park, John Paul II meditates with young people on the life Jesus offers: “I ask you to have the courage to commit yourself to the truth. Have the courage to believe in the good news about life that Jesus teaches in the gospel. Open your mind and heart to the beauty of all that God has created and to His special and personal love for each and every one of you.” “Jesus Christ never ceases to be the ‘door of the sheep.’ Against life he never stops repeating with the same power and the same love: “I came that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
WYD in Denver, USA, 1993
In January 1995 the Pope undertook an apostolic journey to the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Sri Lanka. WYD is planned for Manila. Five million young people are gathered in Rizal Park for prayer. World Youth Day is included in the Guinness Book of Records. The theme chosen is: “As the Father sent me, so I send you.”
During the vigil, John Paul II affirmed: “What do the Church and the Pope expect of the youth of the X World Youth Day?” May you bear witness to Jesus Christ. And may you learn to proclaim all that contains Christ’s message for the authentic liberation and true progress of mankind. This is what Christ asks of you, this is what the Church asks of young people in the Philippines, in Asia and in the world.”
More than a million believers attended World Youth Day in Paris in August 1997, a number four times greater than expected. The motto is: “Master, where do you live? Come and see”. At the Longchamp racecourse, during the Mass on August 24, John Paul II exhorted baptismal fidelity and renewed his mandate to young people: “Dear young people, your journey does not end here. Time does not stand still today. Walk the streets of the world, the ways of humanity, united in the Church of Christ! Keep contemplating the glory of God, the love of God; and you will be enlightened to build the civilization of love and help man to see the world transfigured by wisdom and eternal love.
The Hymn Emmanuel is the soundtrack of WYD 2000 in Rome, Italy. The motto is: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The light of the Great Jubilee, proclaimed by the Bull Tertio Millennio Adveniente, guides pilgrimages to Christ from around the world.
In Tor Vergata on August 19, more than two million young people attended the prayer vigil presided over by John Paul II. “Dear young people of the beginning of the century,” says the Pope at the end of a very intense dialogue, “when you say yes to Christ, you say yes to each of your noblest ideals. Mankind of the New Century and Millennium. Do not be afraid to entrust yourself to him: he will guide you and give you the strength to follow him every day in every situation.”
WYD for the anniversary of the year 2000 in Rome
At the end of July 2002, John Paul II embarked on an apostolic journey that took him to Toronto, Guatemala City and Mexico City. Around 800,000 young people are waiting in Canada. It is your last WYD. The theme chosen for this international gathering is: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world”.
On July 28, at Toronto’s Downsview Park, the Pope opens his heart as always: “You are young and the Pope is old, and being 82 or 83 is not the same as being 22 or 23. He continues to fully identify himself.” with your hopes and your desires. Youth of spirit, youth of spirit! Living in the midst of great darkness and under harsh totalitarian regimes, I had enough reason to steadfastly convince myself that no difficulty and no fear is so great as to utterly crush the hope that is constantly in the hearts of young people sprouts.
Anthem of WYD 2002 in Canada
Benedict XVI is on his way to WYD 2005 as a pilgrim in his country. The occasion is his apostolic journey to Cologne. Germany warmly welcomes him: he follows in Peter’s footsteps with the staff entrusted to him by John Paul II. The estimates of the participants are again exceeded by reality: in the city on the Rhine, more than a million young people are praying with the German Pope. The motto is: “We come to worship you.”
At the fair on the Esplanade of Marienfeld, Benedict XVI. on Sunday, August 21, after the Eucharist, exhorts forgiveness, closeness to others and then exhorts: “I know that as young people you aspire to great things that you want.” Get involved for a better world. Show it to the people, show it to the world, which awaits this very testimony of the disciples of Jesus Christ and who, above all, through your love can discover the star that we follow.”
Australia opens its doors for World Youth Day 2008. It is the first multimedia world gathering: social networks are in the foreground. The theme is: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” On July 20, Benedict XVI warns. at Mass for youth at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, from the ills of society and defines young people as prophets of a new era: “Dear young friends, the Lord prays that you may be prophets.” This new era is a herald of His love who is able to draw people to the Father and to build a future of hope for all mankind.” “The Church also needs this renewal. She needs your faith, idealism and generosity so she can always be young in spirit.”
The theme of WYD 2011 in Madrid, Spain is “Rooted and Built Up in Him… Firm in the Faith”. About 2 million young people celebrate and pray with Benedict XVI. At the Quatro Vientos Air Force Base, the Pope reiterated: “Dear friends, God loves us. This is the great truth of our lives and it gives meaning to everything else. We are not the result of chance or irrationality, but of our existence.” There is a project of God’s love. Remaining in his love, therefore, means living rooted in faith, because it is not a question of mere acceptance of abstract truths, but of an intimate relationship with Christ that leads us to open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as people who know they are loved by God.”
Pope Francis’ first WYD took place in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. About 4 million young people are praying with the Argentine Pope “who came from the periphery of the world”. The theme of the meeting is: “Go Disciple the Nations!”
On Sunday, July 28, during Holy Mass on the Copacabana seafront, the Pope spoke three words: “Go to service without fear. As you obey these three words, you will find that whoever evangelizes, whoever shares the joy of faith, will be evangelized.” Receive more joy. Dear young people, return home, do not be afraid to be generous with Christ, to witness to his gospel. (…) and violence; to destroy and break down the barriers of selfishness, intolerance and hatred; to build a new world.”
In 2016, Poland is still experiencing World Youth Day. The motto is: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will find mercy.” In the land of St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope Francis prays with more than one and a half million young people. At the July 30 vigil at the Campus Misericordiae in Kraków, Pope Francis speaks to young people whom he describes as “an opportunity for the future” and urges them to have the “courage” to teach adults “that it is easier to build”. Build bridges instead of walls!” The Pope poses this challenge: “Today Jesus, who is the way, is calling you to you… to you… to you… [aponta para cada um] Leave your mark on history. He who is Life invites you to leave footprints that will bring life to your story and that of many others. He who is truth invites you to leave the paths of separation, division and meaninglessness. Do you accept?”.
In January 2019, more than 700,000 young people gathered in Panama for World Youth Day with Pope Francis and the first meeting after the youth synod in October. The theme chosen is: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be done according to your word. Geographically, the meeting takes place in a place where there are serious social, economic and political problems, forced migration, violence and drug trafficking. In addition, a thousand young people take part in the first World Meeting of Indigenous Youth.
The Pope recalls Mary’s “yes” and urges young people to realize their power to change the world. In Campo San Juan Pablo II Metro Park, after the Holy Mass with the young people, the Pope affirmed: “We are on our way: keep walking, keep living the faith and share it”. Don’t forget that you are not tomorrow , you are not the “in the meantime”, but the now of God.