“To participate in WYD is something beautiful,” said Pope Francis in a video message to the teens and young adults attending World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. “Prepare yourselves with that enthusiasm. Put hope in that. Have hope ... because one grows a lot at an event like WYD.”

Over the course of his papacy, the Holy Father has exhorted young people at World Youth Day (WYD) to answer the Gospel call and accept Jesus into their hearts.

“Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life,” the Holy Father said on July 28, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. World Youth Day held local diocesan celebrations on Palm Sunday in 2014. In his message to young people that year, the Holy Father said: “Young people who choose Christ are strong. ... Have the courage to be truly happy!”

In his 2015 message for World Youth Day, which the Church celebrated in local dioceses, Pope Francis said, “The greatest good we can have in life is our relationship with God.”

In his homily for Sunday Mass in Krakow, Poland, for WYD 2016, Pope Francis encouraged, “Don’t let your soul grow numb, but aim for the goal of a beautiful love, which also demands sacrifice.”

Catholics celebrated in their dioceses for WYD 2017. In his message, Pope Francis said of the Magnificat, “Faith is at the heart of Mary’s entire story.” In his WYD 2018 message, the Pope encouraged, “The Lord wants us to be free from fear, every day of the year.” The Pope said on Jan. 26, 2019, at WYD in Panama, “The first step is not to be afraid to welcome life as it comes, not to be afraid to embrace life as it is!”

In 2020, the Church celebrated WYD in local dioceses, and Francis encouraged youth, “Be bearers of hope in this world.” WYD 2021 was also celebrated locally. Pope Francis pointed out, “Those who are convinced that they know everything ... will find it hard to encounter Christ.” In 2022, WYD was local. In his message, Francis explained, “We’re saved by Jesus because he loves us.”

Looking ahead to Lisbon, the Pope spoke on Nov. 21, 2021: “I hope that all of us can experience these steps along the way as true pilgrims and not merely as ‘religious tourists’! May we be increasingly open to God’s surprises ... to hearing his voice ... and, at this troubled time in our history, we will become the prophets of a new and hope-filled future!”