Young Catholics from different parts of the world have responded to Pope Francis' invitation for a local celebration of World Youth Day 2021 with the song “Jesus Said to Me: 'Levanta-te! Levántate! Get Up!'”
HUGO FLORES ARCEGA
Coordinator, WYD 2021 Challenge
“I think the song helps us connect to what the Pope is inviting us to. But it also says to young people during the ongoing pandemic, 'Get up. We have been going through a challenging situation, but God is here. Jesus is here to say: Get up.'”
The Ramón Pané Foundation, in collaboration with the Cristonautas Program, will present the song this November, on the Feast of Christ the King. It's a way to help individual dioceses and local churches prepare for the larger World Youth Day event to be held in Lisbon in 2023.
The song is in three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese, and brings together a variety of genres and rhythms, from reggaeton to hip-hop and rap.
HUGO FLORES ARCEGA
Coordinator, WYD 2021 Challenge
“We realized that music is very important for young people and within the Church. So we looked for his contemporary rhythm that they like. We also looked at what else there is on social media, where the youth spend their time today. And we found that they really like choreography, dance and music. So we decided to prepare a contest, which we called the WYD 2021 Challenge.”
The WYD 2021 Challenge is a concrete and fun way for young people to be protagonists of the celebration and to take in the song's message that God is always with them, in good and bad times.
CT
Cristonautas FRP
