Archbishop Cordileone invites youth to World Youth Day 2023
By Valerie Schmalz
Excitement is building for World Youth Day now that the new dates are official. World Youth Day will be Aug. 1-6, 2023, in Lisbon, Portugal, the Vatican announced earlier this month.
“We are overjoyed to now have the dates we can look forward to when millions of people will come together and join the Holy Father for World Youth Day in Lisbon in August 2023,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and Dallas Archbishop Edward Burns in a statement.
The Vatican announced the new dates Oct. 3. Pope Francis had postponed World Youth Day 2022 in an April 2020 announcement as the world reeled from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hope that many from the U.S. will participate, and we invite all youth and young adults – in fact, every person ages 16 to 35 in the United States – to join us. Whether you plan to travel to Lisbon, participate through digital media, or join your peers at one of many local celebrations taking place in dioceses across the country, we want you to be part of this moment in the life of the Church,” the two archbishops said.
In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, plans are underway to send a delegation to World Youth Day, said Chris Mariano, coordinator of Youth & Young Adult Ministry.
“The archdiocesan office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry is putting together a package for the 2023 World Youth Day Delegation to Lisbon, Portugal,” Mariano said. Groups and individuals are invited to join the pilgrimage, he said. While still in the planning stages, Mariano said he plans that the two-week pilgrimage will include side trips to St. Francis’ town of Assisi, the Vatican, and El Camino de Santiago, before its culmination at World Youth Day in Lisbon. For more information: https://sfarch.flocknote.com/signup/25947
“It is providential that the WYD Mass with the Holy Father will take place on the feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 2023,” Archbishop Cordileone and Archbishop Burns said.
“The experience of Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration was a pivotal moment of transformation for them. We hope that WYD will have a similar impact on young people today, no matter where or how they make this pilgrimage to celebrate this special international festival of faith.”
Since 1985, international World Youth Day has been held every two to three years in a different country and is intended to draw together youth and young adults, ages 16 to 35, from every continent for a worldwide pilgrimage and festival of faith along with the Holy Father. The most recent WYD was celebrated in Panama City, Panamá from January 22-27, 2019.
The USCCB will be developing materials and supporting local communities in the coming months before WYD 2023. More details can be found online at: https://www.usccb.org/topics/world-youth-day.
To sign up for updates from the Archdiocese of San Francisco: https://sfarch.flocknote.com/signup/25947