Pedro Carvalho, the director of the National Department of Youth Pastoral, expressed that the participation figures from Portugal in the Jubilee of Young People, commencing on Monday and concluding on August 3, demonstrate the “response to the call” made by Pope Francis in Lisbon during the World Youth Day (WYD) in 2023, as well as “the work done parish by parish, diocese by diocese, for the mobilization of young people to be pilgrims of hope in this jubilee year.”
According to Carvalho, who will accompany the youth under the theme “Hope in Every Step,” this represents the largest mobilization of young Portuguese for international events, “both jubilees and World Youth Day,” with the Portuguese delegation being among the “top 5” largest in the Italian capital.
Addressing participants at WYD in Tejo Park, Lisbon, Francis “challenged young people worldwide to reunite in 2025 in Rome for a new time of faith, reconciliation, and hope.”
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, from the Holy See, responsible for the Jubilee (a Holy Year celebrated every 25 years), expects young pilgrims from 146 countries, 68% from Europe.
As reported by the Vatican News website, Fisichella emphasizes the participation of youth from war-torn regions such as Lebanon, Iraq, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, Syria, and South Sudan, also noting the presence of 1,500 young people from South Korea, where the next World Youth Day will be held in 2027.
Bishop Graziano Borgonovo, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization and connected to the organization of large events pertaining to the Jubilee, stated to the Catholic news agency ACI Digital that about “a million young pilgrims” are expected for the mass of Pope Leo XIV on August 3 at Tor Vergata University.
The agenda for young visitors from Portugal includes an event at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, attended by seven Portuguese bishops, and activities in the churches of Portuguese cardinals, featuring prayer moments, prayer concerts, and a photo exhibition specially prepared for the Jubilee, according to a statement by the National Department of Youth Pastoral.
The statement adds that during the event, “Click To Pray, the official prayer app of the Pope, will provide three daily prayers dedicated to the Youth Jubilee (…) written by seven Portuguese youths from different regions of the country (…) translated into several languages: Spanish, French, English, German, Italian, Chinese, and Korean.”
Additionally highlighted is the “Give Back Project — Integral Ecology and Jubilee 2025,” wherein “continuing the environmental commitment made during WYD Lisbon 2023, a symbolic planting of 25,025 trees will be promoted to offset the ecological footprint of the youthful presence in Rome,” adding that “the first tree has already been planted in Pope Francis Park, in Loures.”
“This Youth Jubilee is of great significance because (…) first, it’s the Jubilee with the largest number of participants, in this case, young people, and these young individuals were not afraid to leave their comfort zones (…) they chose to get up and take action,” stated Pedro Carvalho, noting “this is the great message the young people wish to convey as a sign of hope, a signal that they are alive and want to fully experience this Jubilee.”
