Youth

The Youth Area of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life—once known as the Youth Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity established in 1986 by John Paul II - serves to give visibility and concreteness to the importance that the Pope and the whole Church attribute to the world of the young.

Within the universal Church, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life publicizes the Holy Father’s initiatives; it is at the service of the Episcopal Conferences in the field of youth ministry; it addresses youth movements, associations, and international communities, promoting collaboration and meetings between the various ecclesial realities; and it organizes conferences on youth ministry at international and continental levels.

The central element of its activity is the preparation of the international World Youth Days (WYD) that, every two or three years in different countries, gather hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world around the Pope. The WYD, established by John Paul II in 1985, also plans annual celebrations in local Churches, in the Solemnity of Christ the King.

The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life also supports the activities of the San Lorenzo International Youth Center, which is entrusted with the mission of welcoming and evangelizing young people who go to Rome to study or on pilgrimage.

 

 

News

WYD
Message for the WYD 2022-2023 that will take place in November and in August

  “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39): this is the theme of the Holy Father's Message to young people on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, which will be celebrated in the ...

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
Pope's words in Canada to commemorate the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

  During his trip to Canada, Pope Francis devoted some of his reflections to grandparents and the elderly. This attention is driven by the fact that this week is the celebration of the Second ...

Youth
Almost three years after its establishment, the entity created after the Synod on Youth is preparing for its next meeting in Portugal

  In November 2019, the International Youth Advisory Body was established. It was created to carry out a specific request of the Final Document of the 2018 Synod, which called for the creation of ...