The next Global Celebration of Young People:
Local Communities - November 20, 2022
The next international World Youth Day:
Lisbon, Portugal - August 1-6, 2023
Every year, the Church is called to reflect upon and celebrate youth and young adults.
The Global Celebration of Young People takes place annually on the Solemnity of Christ the King. The next one of these will take place Sunday, November 20, 2022, in every diocese and community around the world, including at the Vatican with the Holy Father.
See the Christ the King Annual Celebration page for more information. See also the USCCB Guidebook for the Global Celebration and also the Spanish Edition Guidebook, as well as the "Abbreviated Version" of the Guidebook.
The international World Youth Day celebration takes place every 2-3 years, typically in the summer months and on a major scale. The next one of these will take place from Tuesday to Sunday, August 1 to 6, 2023, in Lisbon, Portugal with millions of people and Holy Father.
The international festival of faith in Portugal in August 2023 will be a chance for pilgrims around the world to come together with young people from every continent to pray, worship, and celebrate the Catholic faith. See the International Celebration page for more information.
We invite all youth and young adults – in fact, every person age 16 to 35 in the United States – to join us. Whether you plan to travel to Lisbon, participate through digital media, or join your peers at one of many local celebrations taking place in dioceses across the country, we want you to be part of this moment in the life of the Church.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and Bishop Edward J. Burns
Chairman of the LMFLY Committee and WYD 2023 Episcopal Liaison
(see full USCCB statement here)
ANNUAL THEMES - 2019 to 2023
As the Church prepares for these gatherings - both annually and in Lisbon - the Holy Father has given us a four-year guide to mark our journey, under the guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose eternal youthful spirit is found at the heart of this multi-year progress. The themes should be seen as one unit that emerged from Pope Francis' Christus Vivit and his call to infuse the Church's ministries with young people with a vocational perspective that compels us to put our faith into action.
- 34th World Youth Day, 2019-2020: "I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
- 35th World Youth Day, 2020-2021: "Young man, I say to you, arise!" (Lk 7:14).
- 36th World Youth Day, 2021-2022: "Stand up. I appoint you as a witness of what you have seen" (cf. Acts 26:16).
- 37th World Youth Day, 2022-2023: "Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39).
NOTE: Dioceses, eparchies, parishes, campuses, apostolates, and other communities are free to adapt the themes, within reason, to integrate their cultural context and local circumstances. Furthermore, the annual date of the global celebration (Christ the King Sunday) is recommended, but can be adapted to fit the pastoral needs and calendars of the community.
