29 January 2019

World Youth Day 2019 began on 22 January in Panama, taking 44 Melburnians and hundreds of young Australians on an exciting journey around North and Central America.

The group from Melbourne, led by Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, had been preparing for the pilgrimage for a number of weeks prior to departure on 15 January.

After spending their first day travelling, the pilgrims visited multiple locations in Mexico including Mexico City, Puebla, Cholula and the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. They reached Panama City, their final destination, on the seventh day of the pilgrimage – just hours away from the commencement of the youth festival.

This year’s World Youth Day marked the first time in history that the event was held in Central America and reflected the following theme: ‘I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’ (Luke 1: 38).

The festival provided a great opportunity for young people from all over the world to deepen their faith, grow closer to Christ and experience firsthand the universality of the Church.

The event concluded on 27 January with a final Mass celebrated by Pope Francis, where it was announced that the next World Youth Day would be held in Lisbon, Portugal in 2022.