The announcement of Lisbon's choice was made on January 27, 2019, at the closing mass of WYD in Panama City, by Kevin Joseph Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life.

WYD in Lisbon ended up being postponed for a year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the WYD Lisbon website (lisboa2023.org), this is “a meeting of young people from all over the world with the Pope” and, “at the same time, a pilgrimage, a youth festival, and an expression of the universal Church”.

This initiative was created by Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) in 1985 (International Youth Year) and the first WYD took place the following year in Rome, Italy.

The first international meeting took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1987.


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