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 Seoul 2027
Musicians and composers worldwide are invited to create the official hymn for the next World Youth Day in Seoul

  The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027, together with the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, is pleased to announce the launch of the WYD Theme Song ...

Family
De Paula Souza: “Young people’s enthusiasm and vision of the future can help change reality”

      The Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Dr. Gleison De Paula Souza, was invited to speak on the theme “A future of inclusion for young pilgrims of hope. How to ...

Laity
Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, examples of holiness for young people

  “Dear friends, Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them ...