20 years ago... WYD of Rome 2000

In the year in which we celebrate the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II, initiator and creator of the World Youth Days, how can we fail to remember one of the best moments of these intercontinental meetings with young people? Today is the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of WYD in Rome 2000, the Jubilee for the Youth.

In the General Audience of 23 August 2000, the first after the event, John Paul II referred to it as "an unforgettable event", a gift not only for Rome and Italy, but for the whole world, a "meeting truly extraordinary, which went beyond all expectations”. And he added:

“As I flew over that area by helicopter, I marvelled from above at a unique and impressive sight:  an enormous human carpet of festive people, happy to be together. I will never be able to forget the enthusiasm of those young people. I would have liked to embrace them all and to express to each one the affection that ties me to the youth of our time, to whom the Lord entrusts a great mission in the service of the civilization of love”.

Today, those same young people are now adults, striving to live the beauty of their personal encounter with Jesus, and with firm commitment to be His instruments of peace, to promote life at every stage, to take care of the poor and vulnerable people of the Earth they will bequeath one day for future generations.

In 2016, the Organizing Committee of WYD in Krakow released a short video, with some of the most beautiful significant moments of the WYD in Rome 2000.