World Youth Day (WYD)
The World Youth Day (WYD) is an international gathering of young Catholics from all over the world. The programme lasts for about two weeks, the last five or six days being the most important, and is attended by hundreds of thousands or even millions of Catholic youth from as many as 180 countries.
With global attendance and the presence of the pope and other top religious leaders, the WYD is an exceptionally colourful event and a pilgrimage of faith.
Young people aged 16 to 30 years world over, and other religious leaders, set out on a pilgrimage to the venue of the WYD. They gather together and share their faith and spirituality, and celebrate their faith through music, prayer, dance, skits, and the Holy Mass.
Because the get-together spans several days, each WYD may also be called World Youth Days. The WYDs have become immensely popular youth gatherings, watched closely by the media.
The Beginning
It was Pope John Paul II who initiated the concept of WYDs.
In 1984, during the Holy Year of the Redemption remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 1950 years ago, the Holy Father invited the world's Catholic youth from all backgrounds and cultures to gather in Rome for a special celebration of an International Jubilee of Youth and sharing of faith, on Palm Sunday. More than 300,000 young Catholics from world over responded to the pope's call.
The year 1985 marked the United Nations International Year of Youth, and the pope called for a second gathering of young Catholics at Rome on Palm Sunday. This time too, several hundred thousands of youth gathered for a celebration of faith.
Pope John Paul II, always a friend of the youth, was so inspired by the turn out that he proposed that even larger and more powerful events be organized by the Catholic Church every year, and named the get-together as the World Youth Day. Also, the pope suggested that these yearly gatherings be International Get-togethers every two to three years at changing international venues. The concept of the WYD had been born!
The first WYD was held in 1986 in the form of Diocesan celebrations on Palm Sunday. In 1987, the WYD was celebrated as an International encounter for the first time, at Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Setting of WYDs
World Youth Days are generally held every two years (sometimes every three years) as International gatherings at different locations in the world. Every year when it is not an International gathering, similar youth gatherings occur in Rome and dioceses across the world. The WYDs are given sequential numbers regardless of whether they are international get-togethers or diocesan meetings.
Thus the WYD-2005 in Cologne, Germany in August 2005 is the 20th World Youth Day, and the 9th International WYD gathering. Following is a list of all nine international meets:
- Buenos Aires, Argentina (1987)
- Santiago de Compostela, Spain (1989)
- Czestochowa, Poland (1991)
- Denver, USA (1993)
- Manila, Philippines (1995)
- Paris, France (1997)
- Rome (2000)
- Toronto, Canada (2002)
- Cologne, Germany (2005)
The main programme of the WYD usually spans about a week. Before that, there will be Days of Encounter in various dioceses in the host country for about a week.
Pope John Paul II had promised to be personally present at the WYD-2005; his promise has now been fulfilled by his successor Pope Benedict XVI. This will be Pope Benedict's first foreign trip during his papacy.
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