This week the Church has been in the midst of World Youth Day (WYD)! World Youth Day was established because of the creative genius of  St. John Paul II.  His unique ability to perceive the needs of young people led him to invent this unique way of bringing them closer to Jesus. During these meetings, the Pope sought to convey to young people the Gospel with language and expression that everyone understood.

The first World Youth Day in history was in 1984 in Rome, with an attendance of 300,000 young people. The second took place in Buenos Aires in 1987.  Over a million young people attended. The next World Youth Day was in Santiago of Compostela in 1989. Then it was on to Czestochowa in 1991: 1,600,000 attended youth.

The history of WYD is rich, and our chart will help you understand the timeline of this important celebration for the youth of our Church.