About 300,000 pilgrims have already finalized their registration for World Youth Day (WYD), one month before the event begins, and Portugal is the country with the fourth largest number of registrants.
The assessment was made today by the WYD Foundation, in a statement, with almost a month to go until the start of the event, which will take place in Lisbon between August 1st and 6th.
By the end of the day on Thursday, 313,000 pilgrims from 151 countries had completed their registration for the Day, with five countries representing more than half of the young people: Spain (58,531), Italy (53,803), France (41,055), Portugal (32,771) and the United States (14,435).
According to data updated by the WYD Foundation, the overwhelming majority of pilgrims (90%) have requested food support, and the supply of nearly three million meals has already been contracted.
As for lodging, about 200 thousand pilgrims have signed up for this option, and between the three host dioceses (Lisbon, Santarem, and Setúbal) more than 470 thousand overnight places have already been identified, and there are still 7,138 families to host young people.
In addition to the pilgrims, WYD will be supported by thousands of volunteers, and among the 32,717 young people who have started the registration process, 22,282 are from 143 countries, and their registration is already complete.
There are also 500 volunteers who will be exclusively dedicated to the health area, including doctors, nurses, and graduating students who will provide first aid.
From the representatives of the Catholic Church, the presence of 737 bishops is confirmed, 29 of which are cardinals. Like the pilgrims, most are from Italy (113), Spain (77), France (75), the United States (76), and Portugal (45).
Lisbon was the city chosen by Pope Francis for the next edition of the World Youth Day, which will take place between August 1st and 6th.
According to the WYD Foundation, in addition to the central events, other initiatives are also planned, and the Youth Festival will feature 480 events taking place in 100 different locations in the municipalities of Lisbon, Cascais, Oeiras, and Loures.
With no program yet announced, the festival will be marked by initiatives such as film screenings, theater plays, exhibitions, religious events, conferences, and sports tournaments.
The WYD was born from the initiative of Pope John Paul II, after the success of the meeting promoted in 1985, in Rome, during the International Year of Youth.
The first edition was held in 1986, in Rome, and has since been held in Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016), and Panama (2019).
This year’s edition was originally scheduled for 2022, but was postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic.