Since 1984, there have been more than 30 World Youth Days held in different parts of the world—from Italy to the Philippines and from Latin America to Australia.
Giorgio Castiglia traveled from the United States to the Land Down Under in 2008 for Pope Benedict XVI's second international World Youth Day.
POPE BENEDICT XVI
Dear friends, once again you have responded in great numbers to my invitation despite the difficulties due to distances.
GIORGIO CASTIGLIA
It was just thousands of us, sleeping outside in this giant lawn and Pope Benedict addressed the crowd that night. We were waiting for hours and hours, just walking around meeting people, from ya know, Brazil—the Brazilians were always singing—ya know, Chile, Africa.
Adam was at an previous World Youth Day— Toronto 2002. It was the last one with Pope John Paul II. Two years prior, Adam had made the decision to live his faith more fully.
ADAM WILSON
I had a reversion to the faith—or it might be called a spiritual conversion to the faith—in the year 2000. I was raised Catholic, but in a not very strongly, overtly Catholic home.
He holds a very special memory of those days when he was able to be close to the Pope.
ADAM WILSON
And we were waiting along the exit route where there was a fence. And John Paul II exited, obviously, right there, and they slowed the Popemobile down. He looked at us, very close range. And it felt very personal because here we were with what felt like a million other young people and we had this personal encounter with the Holy Father. And no words were spoken—might've been one of those “you had to be there” moments—but for us it was very special.
World Youth Days are also where new couples are born. This is the story of the parents of Nicola, a Swiss Guard. His dad is from Switzerland and his mom from Uruguay. And they met in Denver.
NICOLA
Swiss Guard
My parents met at WYD in 1993 in Denver. They were both in charge of a group of young people from their countries. And they had a dinner together. The others didn't show up and the two of them stayed. They fell in love. And two years later, my mother went to Switzerland and they got married.
The Denver World Youth Day was full of moving scenes such as this embrace between Pope John Paul II and a young man with a disability.
JRB
TR: KG
