Introduction
World Youth Day
World Youth Day is a celebration for young Catholics. It began in 1985 under Pope John Paul II.
What is World Youth Day?
World Youth Day (WYD) is a global week-long pilgrimage of faith with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope.
The atmosphere is festive and the mood exhilarating. But the focus is on prayer and helping young people to grow in faith. Every day, Mass, prayers and teaching (catechesis) on the essential aspects of the Catholic faith are held along with music and cultural events.
Theme and structure
The build-up to the big event begins a week before the Pope's arrival. At WYD 2005 in Cologne, the first phase of the celebration started with 'days of encounter' in dioceses across Germany. Young people got involved in a range of special activities and practical, hands-on social action projects. These days prepared them spiritually for the meeting in Cologne.
During the second phase, young people were given the opportunity to enter more deeply into their faith. WYD pilgrimages groups arrived in Cologne from countries around the world. Religious services and prayers filled the lead-up to the Pope's arrival.
Each WYD follows a special theme. WYD 2005 in Cologne had the theme 'We have come to worship Him'.
A worldwide encounter
International WYD meetings are held in a different country every two to three years. Smaller diocesan gatherings also take place most years. WYD 2005 was the 20th World Youth Day and the ninth international meeting to be held since the event was founded in 1985.
Since then, millions of young Catholics have travelled the globe to meet the Pope in spots as far-flung as Toronto, Denver and Manila in the Philipinnes.
The turn out is huge: 2.5 million young people came to WYD in Rome in 2000. In Toronto in 2002, youth from 160 nations were represented.
The principal objective of every WYD is to "make the person of Jesus the centre of the faith and life of every young person".
A journey through life
In his letter on World Youth Days in 1996, Pope John Paul II described WYD as a "pilgrimage along the roads of the world". He said: "It is a journey which is always in action, like life, like youth."
He also spoke of its impact on his own faith journey. "During these unforgettable youth meetings, I have often been deeply touched by young peoples' joyous, spontaneous love for God and for the Church. They tell of suffering borne for the Gospel, of apparently irremovable obstacles overcome with God's help: they speak of their anguish before a world tormented by despair, cynicism and conflict. Each new meeting leaves me with an ever greater desire to praise God for revealing to young ones the secrets of his Kingdom (Mt 11: 25)."