LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Archbishop José Gomez Sunday will bless nearly 100 pilgrims before they head from Los Angeles to World Youth Day in Lisbon — with Pope Francis scheduled to take part in several sessions during the first iteration of the worldwide event since the pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • Next week’s journey will include teens and young adults, as well as adults, who will join an expected quarter-million Catholics to celebrate World Youth Day, which is actually a multi-day event Aug. 1-6
  • Gomez’s blessing will come during a 10 a.m. Mass Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
  • Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day in December 1985, with the first official celebration held in 1986
  • The day offers a “transformative pilgrimage experience,” targeting those age 16 to 35 and offering an opportunity for those who make the pilgrimage to deepen their faith, organizers said

Next week’s journey will include teens and young adults, as well as adults, who will join an expected quarter-million Catholics to celebrate World Youth Day, which is actually a multi-day event Aug. 1-6.

Gomez’s blessing will come during a 10 a.m. Mass Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

“In these troubling times when our human family, already tested by the trauma of the pandemic, is racked by the tragedy of war, Mary shows to all of us, and especially to you, young people like herself, the path of proximity and encounter,” Pope Francis said in a message to prospective attendees.

“I hope and I firmly believe that the experience many of you will have in Lisbon (in) August will present a new beginning for you, the young, and — with you — for humanity as a whole.”

Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day in December 1985, with the first official celebration held in 1986. It became one of the church’s biggest events, and also one of the world’s largest gatherings of young people.

Related Stories

The day offers a “transformative pilgrimage experience,” targeting those age 16 to 35 and offering an opportunity for those who make the pilgrimage to deepen their faith, organizers said.

One of the highlights will include an Aug. 3 meeting between the pope and college students of the Catholic Portuguese University, followed by a meeting with young members of the pontifical organization, Scholas Ocurrentes.

On Aug. 5, the young people will spend time with the pope at an evening prayer vigil at Parque do Tejo (Tejo Park) after he leads a rosary prayer with sick young people during a one-day visit to the Chapel of Apparitions of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima — in the town of Fatima.

Events associated with World Youth Day will conclude with a morning Mass on Aug. 6 at Tejo Park.