World Youth Day 2023 expected to Open Horizons and Hearts

The next international celebration of World Youth Day (WYD) will be held August 1-6, 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. After a few years of anticipation prolonged by the global pandemic, World Youth Day 2023 will bring pilgrims worldwide together to celebrate with Catechesis, Masses, and Youth Festival events from concerts and film festivals to Adoration and prayer nights.

The Catholic Diocese of Dallas Bishop, Edward J. Burns is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) WYD liaison and a large delegation from the Catholic Diocese of Dallas are expected to represent. A special pilgrimage has been prepared for young adult Catholics (18+) in the Diocese of Dallas. JMJ Youth is the travel partner and will help to serve as a guide and provide resources while in Lisbon.

Also, on hand will be Bridget Hanafin, a second-year teacher at Christ the King Catholic School. She will be responsible for about 100 young people and seminarians from the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. She told The Texas Catholic in their January 27 issue, "I love being able to connect with various parishes, the organizational element of it. Watching other young adults experience this massive stage of our Catholicism for the first time just ignites me."

World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The gathering attracts hundreds of thousands of young people and every three years is held on a different continent. Lisbon is the Portuguese capital and home to more than half a million people. Lisbon is also more than an hour away from Fatima, a world-famous Marian pilgrimage site.

In a January 20 video message, Pope Francis noted that 400,000 young adults had already registered to attend World Youth Day.

"Get ready for this: to open horizons, to open your hearts," he said.

To learn more about the Catholic Diocese of Dallas Young Adult Pilgrimage visit https://dallasatwyd.org/