World Youth Day 2016 - United in Diversity

World Youth Day is an international meeting of young people from all over the world, who gather in one place along with the Pope and unite in piece regardless all differences.​

His Holiness concluded his five-day visit in Poland on Sunday, 31 July. The Pope’s visit was in large part connected to the World Youth Day event held in the country. According to various estimates, approximately 2 million people gathered at the Campus Misericordiae in Riversides on Sunday. 

The aim of the World Youth Day is to experience the great community of the Universal Church, listening to the Word of God, the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, and the joyful proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, the multiday event united millions of people no matter of nationality and cultural background.

The Pope, as the head of the church and a symbol of the unity for billions of people around the world, thanked for the organized event and asked all the believers for prayer of unity and peace in the world. In his Wawel speech, Pope Francis expressed his joy that his first visit to Central-Eastern Europe takes place in Poland, “whose son is the unforgotten St. John Paul II, the initiator and promoter of World Youth Day”. He then added, “Big thanks goes to you, dear young people. You filled Krakow with your enthusiasm and your faith, which you spread to others”.

Pope Francis held also a meeting with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Poland. Poland’s heads of government said that their meeting with the Holy Father touched on “modern challenges facing the world” and the need for values in the world.