Youth
The Youth Office of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life—once known as the Youth Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity—was established in 1986 by John Paul II 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 Youth Office 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.
On behalf of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the Youth Office finally 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
Centro San Lorenzo
De Paula Souza: Let us entrust to the Cross of Youth the sufferings of humanity, with the renewed hope that Christ is alive and wants us alive
On 13 and 14 April, the 'Festival of Hope' was held at the San Lorenzo International Youth Centre (CSL) to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first youth meeting in Saint Peter's Square ...
Christus Vivit
A reflection by Card. Kevin Farrell on L'Osservatore romano
L'Osservatore romano - In 2019, with the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit, Pope Francis brought to completion the synodal journey he himself launched in October ...
Christus Vivit
Five years after the publication of Christus Vivit, Pope Francis writes a new message to young people
On 25 March 2019, in the Holy House of Loreto, Pope Francis signed the Post-Synodal Exhortation Christus Vivit, a 'letter' to young people that encapsulated the work of the Synod of Bishops on ...
