A contingent of young people from three parishes in the diocese – St. Charles Borromeo in Parma, St. Francis of Assisi in Gates Mills, and St. Mary in Hudson – are among the thousands of young people attending the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. The celebration runs through Aug. 6 and includes a visit from Pope Francis.
The local contingent, which also included some diocesan seminarians, left the diocese in late July. They spent time visiting sacred and other sites of interest in Europe before heading to WYD.
Father Josh Cochrac, parochial vicar at St. Charles Borromeo, Father Steve Flynn, St. Francis of Assisi pastor, and Father Eric Garris, diocesan vocation director, are among the priests accompanying the local pilgrims.
They shared a few photos from their travels prior to WYD and plan to send additional photos from the event.
Among the sites they visited were Lourdes and Paris, France. They saw the shrine at Lourdes. In Paris, the group visited the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and attended Mass at Sacre Coeur.
Liam Hatgas, a St. Charles parishioner, carried the WYD cross in a procession at an international Mass at the Lourdes grotto. Celebrant for the liturgy was Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
The pope traveled to Lisbon on Aug. 2 and was scheduled to attend a welcoming ceremony that day. He also planned to visit with civic and religious leaders, attend vespers with clergy, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers.
His schedule for Aug. 3 included meeting with university students and young people as well as participating in the official WYD welcoming ceremony.
On Aug. 4, the pope is expected to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation with some young people, meet with representatives of some aid and charity groups, have lunch with some young people and pray the Stations of the Cross.
The pope’s schedule for Aug. 5 includes praying the rosary with sick young people, a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus and a vigil with young people.
The final day of WYD – Aug. 6 – the pontiff plans to celebrate Mass, meet with WYD volunteers and attend a farewell ceremony.
World Youth Day was launched by Pope St. John Paul II in 1985. The first WYD was in 1986 in Rome. Other host cities included Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002). Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016) and Panama City (2019).
Millions of young people from across the world have attended WYD since its inception.
Click here for livestreaming of some WYD events in Lisbon.