There are only four days left until the start of World Youth Day Lisbon. This will be the first one since the COVID pandemic, which caused the event to be postponed from 2022.
Pope Francis will travel to Portugal's capital city on Tuesday, August 2, and remain until Sunday, August 6. On Saturday, the Pope will also make a special visit to Fatima.
During these five days, the Pope will deliver nine addresses and two homilies. Only the first will be in Italian. The rest will be in Spanish. As he often does during papal trips, the Pope will hold different meetings with civil authorities and religious leaders of the country.
There is a possibility that Pope Francis will meet with young people from Russia and Ukraine and with victims of sexual abuse. However, this has not yet been confirmed by the Holy See, which has stated that 'if these meetings do take place, they will be confidential and will be announced afterwards.'
For the last few months, the Pope has been preparing for this trip to Portugal. He has dedicated many messages to the young people who will join him in Lisbon.
POPE FRANCIS
To all of you young people, who are either preparing to go to Lisbon or are going to follow the event from afar, it is a point of interest for all of us. At this moment, it is the place where we all have to look, the young people have to look. To you, young people, go ahead.
330,000 people from 200 different countries have registered for the event, although many more are expected to attend. Another 20,000 volunteers, 700 bishops and 20 cardinals will also travel to Lisbon.
To help everyone attending WYD, the organizers have launched an app, called 'Lisbon 2023.' On it, the daily schedule with all the events, a map of the city, and even the different songs and prayers for each day can be found.
CA
TR: KG
