With the shadow of so many actual and potential wars hovering over so many places in the world, including the Korean peninsula, we need signals of hope
After a long wait and a one-year postponement caused by the pandemic, World Youth Day (WYD) 2023 was celebrated in Lisbon, Portugal, from August 1 to 6.
The central idea for this year’s World Youth Day is derived from Luke 1:39, which states: “Mary arose and went with haste.”
When questioned about his selection of Mary as the theme for World Youth Day, Pope Francis explained, “Mary wasted no time when she learned she would become the mother of God.
“She didn’t linger for selfies or seeking attention. Her immediate action was to embark on a purposeful journey, quickly moving to aid and serve.
“You also should draw inspiration from her, embarking on a journey to assist others.”
In the multitude of raised flags symbolizing nations both big and small around the world, Pope Francis conveyed to approximately 500,000 energetic and spirited young individuals that God’s invitation is directed towards every individual personally, rather than their online identity.
“You are not here by mistake,” he told the mass of people in Lisbon’s Eduardo VII Park Aug. 3 for the welcome ceremony for World Youth Day. “You, you, you, over there, all of us, me, we were all called by our names.”
While social networks know young people’s names, tastes and preferences, “all this does not understand your uniqueness, but rather your usefulness for market research,” he said at his first World Youth Day event.
The “illusions” of the virtual world “attract us and promise happiness” but later show themselves to be “vain, superfluous things, substitutes that leave us empty inside,” the pope said.
“I’ll tell you something, Jesus is not like that; he believes in you, in each one of you and us, because to him each one of us is important, and that is Jesus.”
Amidst the youth scattered across the park, basking in the Lisbon sunlight for hours prior to the pope’s arrival, was 18-year-old Tyler Nguyen from Colorado.
He shared with Catholic News Service that among young individuals striving to uphold their faith, the most significant hurdle they face is presented by social media “since Catholics are often perceived online as being extreme.”
But in the church, Pope Francis said, “there is space for everyone, and when there isn’t, please, let’s work so that there is—also for who makes mistakes, for who falls, for who it is difficult.”
Departing from his prepared speech, he asked all the young people to “repeat with me: ‘Everyone, everyone, everyone!’” before waves of “todos, todos, todos”—“everyone” in Spanish and Portuguese—spread throughout the crowd.
“That is the church,” Francis said, “the mother of all; there is room for all.”
Throughout the crowd there were flags from countries with large Catholic populations such as Spain and Brazil, but also proudly displayed banners from countries where Catholics represent a small portion of the population.
Throughout his time as Pope, the Holy Father has encouraged young individuals during World Youth Day to respond to the Gospel’s summons and embrace Jesus within their hearts.
“Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life,” the Holy Father said on July 28, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
World Youth Day held local diocesan celebrations on Palm Sunday in 2014. In his message to young people that year, the Holy Father said: “Young people who choose Christ are strong. … Have the courage to be truly happy!”
In his 2015 message for World Youth Day, which the Church celebrated in local dioceses, Pope Francis said, “The greatest good we can have in life is our relationship with God.”
World Youth Day was conceptualized by Pope John Paul II and debuted in Rome in 1986.
The inception of World Youth Day occurred subsequent to the engagement of numerous youths hailing from diverse global regions who answered the Pope’s call to take part in the International Jubilee of Youth in 1984 and the United Nations’ International Year of Youth in 1985, both hosted in Rome.
Pope John Paul II drew inspiration from the church’s Youth Jubilee (1984), a significant gathering between the pontiff and young Catholics at the culmination of the 1983–84 Year of Jubilee, as well as from the United Nations International Youth Year (1985), when he initiated the creation of World Youth Day in 1986.
Concluding World Youth Day in Portugal with a grand Mass, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to cast away fear.
He also revealed that the next World Youth Day, marking the first time in three decades, will be hosted in Asia.
Addressing approximately two million participants at the Catholic event in Parque Tejo, Lisbon, the Pope emphasized the Church’s reliance on them and encouraged them to pursue their aspirations.
He then disclosed that Seoul, South Korea, would be the host of World Youth Day in 2027.
The venue for the next World Youth Day could not be more appropriate.
With the shadow of so many actual and potential wars hovering over so many places in the world, including the Korean peninsula, we need signals of hope.
And what greater sign of hope can we have than that of the faithful youth, perhaps led by BTS and other K-pop artists leading, songs of courage, peace, love, and solidarity.
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