(SNR) – The Diocese of Lincoln will participate in World Youth Day 2023 with a pilgrimage to Lisbon, Portugal July 25-Aug. 9, 2023.
World Youth Day is a gathering of young people from all over the world. It is a pilgrimage meant to seek Christ in his Church and especially in his vicar, the pope.
World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The week-long gathering usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people.
As a part of promoting the event, Pope Francis said “In Jesus’ name, I ask you: Arise! Testify that you too were blind and encountered the light. You too have seen God’s goodness and beauty in yourself, in others, and in the communion of the Church, where all loneliness is overcome.”
Pope Francis announced that the Portuguese capital would host the global Catholic gathering of young people at the closing Mass of the last international World Youth Day in Panama City in January 2019. Originally planned for 2022, the Lisbon event was postponed to 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bishop overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2023 told Catholic News Agency in an interview earlier this year the event will be an opportunity to renew hope.
“I wish WYD Lisbon 2023... can mean an opportunity to renew the hope in the post-pandemic period,” Bishop Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar said.
The group from the Diocese of Lincoln will take part in “days in the diocese,” a cultural celebration of the region. Pilgrims will stay with host families in Portugal and experience the food, traditions and celebrations of the local culture. A report on “European Young Adults and Religion” published in 2018 found that Portugal has one of the highest levels of weekly Mass attendance among young people in Europe.
After “days in the diocese,” the Lincoln Diocese group will travel to Lisbon for catechesis and local festivities which lead to a string of days with the Holy Father. Stations of the cross, a pilgrim walk, an overnight stay, and Mass are among the highlights.
The group will end the pilgrimage with a short trip to Fatima. Pilgrims will see the place where Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima beginning in 1917.
Jeff Schinstock, director of youth and young adult ministry, will lead the pilgrimage. Pilgrims must be at least 16 years of age or accompanied by a parent. For more information or to register, go to www.lincolndiocese.org/pilgrimages/world-youth-day.
