Diocesan Pilgrims Heading to Lisbon for World Youth Day 2023 Author: The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D. In the News 25 Jul 2023 Share FALL RIVER – Twenty-four pilgrims from the Diocese of Fall River will join hundreds of thousands of young adults in Lisbon, Portugal, next week for the celebration of World Youth Day (WYD) 2023. The local group comprises mostly teenagers and young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who come from parishes across the diocese. Accompanying them will be David Carvalho, the secretary for the New Evangelization in the diocese, and Oscar Rivera Jr., the diocesan director of Youth Ministry. In Lisbon, they will be joined by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., who will be among over 700 bishops in attendance from around the world. The August 1 to 6 World Youth Day event is an opportunity for youth and young adults from around the globe to unite to celebrate and share their faith through a common experience of pilgrimage, prayer, and worship. Pope Francis will join the WYD pilgrims on August 3, for a Welcome Ceremony in the city center. He will also preside at a Way of the Cross on August 4, a prayer vigil on August 5, and the WYD Closing Mass, with an anticipated crowd of a million or more, on August 6. The young adults from the Diocese of Fall River will be among some 28,600 individuals participating from the United States. The WYD schedule features prayer and liturgies, daily catechesis, concerts, presentations, cultural events, and opportunities for sight-seeing. Bishop da Cunha will lead a Holy Hour for the diocesan delegation prior to their participation in the WYD Welcome Ceremony and Diocesan Youth Ministry Director Rivera has been selected to lead an XLT Life Teen prayer session with a brief teaching during WYD. The diocesan pilgrims will depart on July 26, traveling first to the Azores for a two-day visit before heading to the mainland. Once In Portugal, they will do some touring before WYD begins. Their itinerary includes a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, one of the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage sites. Rivera said the local group has been meeting to prepare for the WYD journey. Not surprisingly, he described the young pilgrims as “excited” as their date of departure nears. “Many of them already have a connection to the areas we’ll visit because their families trace their roots there, and they want to see it,” he explained. “There is also a spiritual excitement too; they’re eager to see how they’ll grow in faith from the WYD experience.” World Youth Day began in 1986 as an initiative, inaugurated by St. John Paul II, to bring young people from around the world together to encounter Christ and the universal Church. The international gathering with the Holy Father Pope takes place every three or four years in a different location around the world. Follow the Fall River Diocesan group as they attend World Youth Day via the Secretariat for the New Evangelization Facebook page and get a pilgrims’ view of the experience. The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D. The Bishop of Fall River Categories In the News Press Releases and Statements Messages from The Bishop Bishop's Blog Success Stories Photo Gallery Videos Previous Next Related Posts Bishop's Blog 10 Aug 2023 2023 World Youth Day If I had to choose one adjective to express my experiences at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, last week, it would be contagious. The positive, enthusiastic, joyful energy … Read More Bishop's Blog 26 Jul 2023 Cultivating the Faith of Our Youth Catholic Schools Summer is an important time for our Diocesan Catholic Schools as they prepare for the upcoming school year. One vital step, especially for the Administration, is to ensure … Read More In the News 19 Jul 2016 Two Groups from Diocese Traveling to Poland for World Youth Day FALL RIVER — Two groups of teens, young adults and adults from the Fall River Diocese will be among pilgrims from around the world traveling this month to Krakow, Poland, … Read More