The City of Joy: an experience of harmony, sharing and forgiveness

They welcome in different languages, make friends, present and comment on the Apostolic Exhortation "Christus Vivit." They discuss commitment and peace, hope, intergenerational dialogue and human fraternity. They speak - as young people - to other young people. They are the youths of the IYAB, (International Youth Advisory Body), a result of the 2018 Synod, which starting the following year, enhanced the activity of the Dicastery thanks to the support of 20 young people from different regions of the world.

The IYAB stand is just one of the 150 present. Among others, there are also those of the 2023 Synod and that of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, which animate, during these days of WYD in Lisbon, the "City of Joy," the place that brings together the Vocational Fair, the Chapel and the Reconciliation Park and is the hub of events, meetings, discussions and moments of prayer.

At the Vocational Fair, young pilgrims can connect with movements, associations, communities, religious orders and social projects. At the same time the Reconciliation Park is a place where young people can encounter the merciful Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, thanks to the priests available in about 150 confessionals built by inmates from the prisons of Coimbra, Paços de Ferreira and Porto. Also accessible to people with reduced mobility and made from recycled materials, after the WYD the confessionals will be used again, in line with the commitment to sustainability that characterizes the entire event.