The dates of the next World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, have been set: August 1 to 6, 2023.
"Young people around the world have long wanted to know the dates for WYD in Lisbon in 2023 in order to prepare," said the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Manuel Clemente, in the press release. He said he is announcing these dates "with great joy" and says he hopes that the 22 months remaining before the event "will be a time of evangelization for all."
The Local Organizing Committee now has 400 volunteers. Each Portuguese diocese has already created its Diocesan Organizing Committee to prepare for this event, which will bring together young Catholics from all over the world.
Originally scheduled for the summer of 2022, WYD was postponed to 2023 by the Holy See due to the pandemic. This will be Pope Francis' fourth WYD. The last took place in Panama in 2019 and gathered around 700,000 participants, a number which is lower than the normal draw, also because being in the Southern Hemisphere, the event was held in January.
