This day of prayer and celebration begins our Diocesan preparations for the International Celebration of World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal from July 28 – August 7, 2023. 40 young people from around our Diocese are preparing eagerly for this important pilgrimage of faith. We encourage you to pray for them, their spiritual advisors, and the 2,000 other Canadian youth preparing to meet with the global Church in Portugal this coming summer.
World Youth Day Resources:
- Prayers of the Faithful – The Office for Youth Ministry has put together a few suggestions of general intercessions for youth and their needs – both in preparation for World Youth Day, and to encourage prayer for young people on a regular basis. Please see the list of suggestions HERE.
- Pastoral Letter to Young People, CCCB – In October of 2022, the Canadian Bishops released a pastoral letter to the youth of Canada entitled, “Arise and Become Who You Are!” This letter is available in text or video format to share with your parishioners and schools. We encourage you to review this resource and share it widely. All materials can be found HERE.
- Pope Francis’ Message for the 37th Celebration of World Youth Day – His Holiness, Pope Francis, has released his message for the 37th Celebration of World Youth Day. This brief message is a reflection on the theme of WYD this summer, “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39). Pope Francis’ message can be found HERE.
- Diocesan Information for World Youth Day – Want to learn more about our Diocesan preparations for World Youth Day and how to sponsor our pilgrims? Our Diocesan WYD Website is home to much information. We encourage you to visit us here: https://wyd.hamiltondiocese.com/
- Prayer for World Youth Day 2023 – A special prayer is written for each International World Youth Day Gathering. We invite you to share the prayer for the coming celebrations in Portugal with your parish communities so that we can be joining in prayerful support of our 40 Diocesan Pilgrims. The prayer can be found HERE.
- Litany of Young Saints – The Office for Liturgy, alongside the Office for Youth Ministry have prepared a special Litany of Young Saints, many of whom are featured as patrons of World Youth Day. We encourage you to share this litany with youth ministering agencies in your parish. The litany can be found on the Youth Ministry webpage HERE.
- Campus Ministry, Diocese of Hamilton – The Diocese of Hamilton is home to many vibrant Campus Ministry centres that support young adults in their post-secondary years. We invite you to learn more about Campus Ministry in the Diocese through a video showcase, found HERE.