World Youth Day 2013, stylized WYDRio2013, was the 14th international World Youth Day, an international Catholic event focused on religious faith and youth. The host city of World Youth Day 2013 was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as announced by Pope Benedict XVI at the end of the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. The events were scheduled to be held from 23 July to 28 July 2013.
Pilgrim crowds in Rio
Pilgrims in Rio
Pope Francis in Rio
Believers all along Copacabana beach, with the Sugarloaf in the background
World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where during summer camps Catholic young adults over 13 days of camp celebrated a "day of community". For the first celebration of WYD in 1986, bishops were invited to schedule an annual youth event to be held every Palm Sunday in their dioceses. Nicknamed "The Catholic Woodstock", it is celebrated at the diocesan level annually—in most places on Palm Sunday from 1986 to 2020, and from 2021 on Christ the King Sunday—and at the international level every two to three years at different locations. The 1995 World Youth Day closing Mass in the Philippines set a world record for the largest number of people gathered for a single religious event with 5 million attendees. This record was surpassed when 6 million attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis—again in the Philippines—20 years later in 2015.
A view of the celebratory vibe outside the Cologne Cathedral in Germany (2005). The participation of Catholics from many countries worldwide results in an enhanced and collaborate spiritual experience.
Crowd at Barangaroo, Sydney, for first day of WYD08 celebrations
Pope Francis arrives at Copacabana, 26 July 2013