Wishing to meet young people from all over the world, Saint John Paul II, then Pope, decided, with the help of other Church representatives, to organize World Youth Day (WYD). The first one was held in Rome in 1986. The following year, in 1987, young people began the beautiful pilgrimage movement to different countries. And Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the city that first hosted a WYD outside the European continent. Check out the history of WYD below.
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Since then, 37 editions of the journey have been held, including diocesan and international ones, and the next one already has a date set: August 1-6, 2023. The place that will host WYD now is the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. The world meetings in different countries take place based on the Church’s announcement. For this reason, young people must always be attentive to know which new land they will be called to pilgrimage.
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However, to better understand how WYD came about, comshalom has prepared a special video for you. And right after that, a timeline shows the history of the days held worldwide. You can share this content with whoever you want!