Portugal: PR expects to hear “from the mouth” of the Pope that the next World Youth Days are in Lisbon

Lisbon – The President of the Republic today said he hoped and hoped to hear “from the mouth of Pope Francisco” on Sunday in Panama that the next World Youth Day in 2022 will take place in Lisbon.

“What I hope is not only to wait, what I desire is that on Sunday it is possible to hear from the mouth of the holy priest, Pope Francisco, the announcement that the next days, in June 2022, could be held in Lisbon, in Portugal, “said the President of the Republic, Marcelo de Sousa.

The head of state spoke on the sidelines of a meeting between the scientist, researcher and president of Instituto Superior Técnico, Arlindo Oliveira, and secondary school students, under the Scientist Program at the Palace of Belém, promoted by the Presidency of the Republic to stimulate interest of young people for science.

The World Youth Days start today in Panama and run until the 27th, when the pope will announce whether the Portuguese candidature was chosen to organize the Journeys in 2022.

“This is what I want, it is in this expectation that I leave for Panama and I hope to return from Panama with the joy of having a great world event with us all over the world, and we are talking not about thousands, but possibly one million, one and a half million or two million young people from all over the world, “said the President of the Republic.

In addition to the presence of Pope Francisco, who will be in the conference from Wednesday, the event will be attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who will travel at the invitation of his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela and where he will be between 25 and 27 January.

The organization of XXXIV World Youth Day expects 200,000 young people from 155 countries, including 300 Portuguese from 12 dioceses and six congregations and movements (Salesians, Neocatechumenal Way, Youth Teams of Our Lady, Vincentian Marian Youth, Schoenstatt and Focolare).

The Portuguese delegation also includes 30 volunteers and six bishops, including Manuel Clemente, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Joaquim Mendes, President of the Episcopal Commission of the Laity and Family and Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon, José Cordeiro, Bishop of Bragança-Miranda, Manuel Felício, bishop of Guarda, Bishop Nuno Almeida, Auxiliary Bishop of Braga and Virgílio Antunes, Bishop of Coimbra.

The Pope challenges young people participating in these journeys to overcome all kinds of cultural, economic or social differences.

The World Youth Days are a first moment of global meeting of young people after the synod of bishops dedicated to them, in October 2018, and which reinforced the need to continue to walk with young people.

Held every year at the diocesan level and with a periodic interval of two or three years, in different parts of the world, the journeys were created by Pope John Paul II in 1985.

The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon made official the request to receive the World Youth Days (WYD) at the end of 2017 and since 2012 at various meetings of the Pontifical Council for the Laity (CPL) of the Vatican, the hypothesis of Portugal has been according to the site.

The previous editions of World Youth Day were held in Cologne, Germany, 2005, Sydney, Australia, 2008, Madrid, 2011, with Pope Benedict XVI in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 and Krakow in Poland, in 2016, with the current pontiff.