World Youth Day 2016 – Day Thirteen

Pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2016, Krakow, Poland

The Very Rev Christopher de Souza VG EV PP our Vicar General and Episcopal Vicar for Education and Formation is leading pilgrims from the Diocese of Parramatta to World Youth Day 2016 (WYD).

WYD 2016 will be a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland for a week-long festival of faith with millions of youth from around the world joining Pope Francis for an encounter with Jesus.

WYD is a part of a tradition initiated by the late Pope John Paul II (now St John Paul) for the Church to be with the youth, for the youth. Pope John Paul II described World Youth Day’s objective as: “…to make the person of Jesus the centre of the faith and life of every young person so that He may be their constant point of reference and also the inspiration of every initiative and commitment for the education of the new generations.”

2016 will be a very special WYD. Krakow is where the founder, Pope John Paul II, studied and was Archbishop.

The Diocese of Parramatta WYD Communications Team will be capturing stories during WYD 2016. You can follow the pilgrimage below.


Final Mass for World Youth Day 2016

Sunday was the conclusion of the 2016 World Youth Day pilgrimage in Krakow, Poland.

The final Mass of the XXXI World Youth Day, attended by almost 2,000,000 people, was celebrated by the Holy Father. During his homily, the Pope challenged the young people gathered to not be afraid of Christ and to take a “risk” for others.

Reflecting on the Gospel of Luke and the encounter of Jesus with Zacchaeus, a tax collector, he used technology as a key theme of his homily.

“In his eyes the clothes you wear or the kind of cell phone you use are of absolutely no concern,” he said.

“Download the best ‘link’ of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary.”

“How much he hopes that, in all the ‘contacts’ and ‘chats’ of each day, pride of place be given to the golden thread of prayer!”

“Trust the memory of God: his memory is not a ‘hard disk’ that ‘saves’ and ‘archives’ all our data, but a heart filled with tender compassion, one that finds joy in ‘erasing’ in us every trace of evil.”

For the full text of Pope Francis’ homily, click here.

Over 1,000,000 young people slept overnight after a prayer vigil with the Pope for the Mass on the outskirts of Krakow. Youth from the Diocese of Parramatta joined 3000 from Australia for the event.

Pilgrims from the Diocese of Parramatta will tomorrow have one last day of retreat before returning to Australia.

At the very end of celebrations, the Holy Father announced that Panama will be the location of the next World Youth Day, edging out rumoured favourites Seoul, South Korea and New York, USA.

Click here to learn more about World Youth Day 2019.


Pilgrimage 1 & 2 are now combined. For more frequent updates and photos check out the CYP Facebook page

For day twelve, click here.

For day eleven, click here.

For day ten, click here.

For day nine, click here.

For day eight, click here.

For day seven, click here.

For day six, click here.

For day five, click here.

For day four, click here.

For day three, click here.

For day two, click here.

For day one, click here.

Read Daily
* indicates required

RELATED STORIES