Pope is first to register for World Youth Day 2016; 45,000 soon follow

July 27, 2015

Pope Francis entered the first official registration to participate in World Youth Day 2016, using a hand-held computer to enter his registration during his regular Angelus audience on Sunday, July 26.

Within 24 hours, L’Osservatore Romano reports, another 45,000 people had registered for the World Youth Day (WYD) events, which will be held in Krakow from July 25 to 31 of next year.

In a message encouraging participation in WYD, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, the Polish president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, noted that the event will take place during the Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis. The theme for the 2016 event is drawn from the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will find mercy.”

The 2016 observance will be the 2nd international World Youth Day held in Poland. The inaugural WYD celebration was held in 1991 at the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, with St. John Paul II in attendance.

 

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Further information:

• Cardinal Rylko sends message for Krakow World Youth Day 2016 (Vatican Radio)
• Meeting on the field of mercy (L'Osservatore Romano)
• Pope signs himself up for World Youth Day using tablet (ANSA)