International

At the celebration of the World Youth Day Via Crucis in Lisbon’s Edward VII Park, Pope Francis reminds young people that Jesus continues to walk with us today, filled with love and hope for each one of us.

In Lisbon, the first “Catholic Influencers Festival” takes to the stage on Friday evening, with a blessing for the future of digital evangelisers.

Matilde Trocado, the artistic director of Friday evening's WYD Way of the Cross, highlights the youthful and contemporary approach that was imprinted on the 14 Stations, each of which focuses on a specific "fragility" of young people across the globe.

Our correspondent in Lisbon, Francesca Merlo, says Pope Francis spent Friday morning showing his closeness to young people, the elderly, and those in need, as he heard confessions and encouraged the Church's charitable outreach agents in their mission to spread Christ's love in action.

Pope Francis grants an interview to Spanish Catholic magazine “Vida Nueva” on the occasion of its 65th anniversary, and says the Church needs to implement Vatican II before planning a Third Vatican Council.

On the third day of his Apostolic Journey to Portugal for World Youth Day, Pope Francis celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation with three young pilgrims.

On the third day of his Apostolic Journey to Portugal, Pope Francis praises charitable outreach agents for living out 'love in action,' and reminds them of the value of even the most simple of gestures.

After shaking hands with Pope Francis during his meeting at the Portuguese Catholic University, a student from war-torn Syria expresses his joy and sense of unity beyond all differences of creed.

As day three of World Youth Day wraps up, joy and happiness overflow in Lisbon, especially for the final event of the day, during which WYD pilgrims finally met with Pope Francis for their first full meeting.

After Pope Francis' meeting with university students, the Portuguese Catholic University hosts the first event for young people who carry the message of Christ on social media and the web, promoted by the Dicastery for Communication.

Pope Francis leads the welcoming ceremony of the 37th World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, and reminds young people from across the globe that God calls each of us by name because He loves every person.

On Thursday morning Pope Francis meets with 40 young people from Türkiye expressing admiration for their courage and taking up the challenge to rebuild their communities hit by last February's massive earthquake.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, shares with Vatican News his hopes for the future of the Church, as hundreds of thousands of young people gather with Pope Francis for World Youth Day in Lisbon.

Pope Francis meets with 15 Ukrainian pilgrims ahead of his second day in Portugal, expressing his prayerful closeness, and prays at Mass for a World Youth Day catechist who died while in Lisbon.

Pope Francis reminds students at the Universidade Catòlica Portuguesa "there’s no future in a world without God" inviting them to make their faith credible through their choices. The meeting took place on the second day of the Pope's Apostolic Journey to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023.

On the second day of Pope Francis’ visit to Lisbon for the 2023 World Youth Day, he meets with members of the “Scholas Occurrentes” community at its Portuguese headquarters in Cascais, and puts the finishing touch to a multi-coloured wall mural symbolising the beauty of unity in diversity.

Antonella Sciarrone, Undersecretary of the Dicastery of Culture and Education, underlines the importance “to dignify” careers in the educational field starting from the young generations.

The spokesman for the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) has dismissed alarmist reports by Portuguese media that 106 young pilgrims from Angola and Cabo Verde have absconded from their delegations in Portuguese.

Ana Alvez, Director of Communication of World Youth Day 2023 that kicked off on 1 August, highlights the duty for all the media organizations present in Lisbon to “speak with the heart”.

The Church in the Philippines has sent a 1,500-person delegation to World Youth Day in Lisbon, led by Archbishop Jose Palma and Bishop Rex Andrew Alacron, the latter of which will conduct one of the Rise Up Encounters for all young people at WYD.

Day two of World Youth Day draws to a close as the arrival of Pope Francis brings a new and renewed energy to the streets of Lisbon.

Pope Francis reflects on the conflicts, injustices and lack of hope that are crippling the world today and on how the Church, whose "face has been marred by scandals," is called to find new ways to go forward, fueling hope for the future and “sailing boldly into the sea of evangelization and of mission.”

Pope Francis holds a private audience with a group of 13 victims of clerical sexual abuse in Portugal, according to the Holy See Press Office.

As pilgrims await their first encounter with Pope Francis in Lisbon, several young people share how they are sharing their faith with others, and forging lasting connections with their fellow Christians.

Pope Francis arrives in Lisbon, Portugal, to kick off his 42nd Apostolic Journey abroad for the occasion of World Youth Day, joking with journalists aboard the papal flight that he will return to Rome "more youthful."

Pope Francis sets off on his 42nd Apostolic Journey abroad to the European nation of Portugal for the 37th World Youth Day in Lisbon, and moment of prayer in Fatima, marking his second visit to the nation as Pope.

In his first press conference on the 37th WYD, Cardinal Manuel Clemente of Lisbon highlights the protagonism of Portuguese youths in the preparation of the event, saying this generation will mark a new future in the country and in the world.

Pope Francis sends a letter to the newly-appointed Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, Archbishop Alfonso Amarante, and encourages its mission to proclaim the truth and joy of the Gospel through study and academic excellence.

The 37th World Youth Day gets underway with Mass celebrated by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, providing hundreds of thousands of young people their first opportunity to share their faith journey.

On August 3, Pope Francis will be in Cascais, Portugal, to give the final brushstroke to the 3 km mural that the community has been working on...