XXIII WORLD YOUTH DAY
July 15-20, 2008
Sydney, Australia

 
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What is World Youth Day?

In 1984, Pope John Paul II invited young people from around the world to come to Rome on Palm Sunday to observe the International Jubilee of Youth. It was such a phenomenal experience that he decided to invite young people every 2 or 3 years to a week-long international gathering which became known as World Youth Day. Hundreds of thousands of people, sometimes over a million, attend these events each time they are held. Pope Benedict XVI enthusiastically embraced this tradition at World Youth Day XX in Germany.

The young people gather with other young Catholics from around the world for a week of catechesis, concerts, prayer and faith-sharing, culminating in a closing prayer vigil and mass with the Pope. World Youth Day is officially for young people from 16-35 years old.