On World Youth Day, We Hold Young People in our Hearts

In anticipation of World Youth Day, Larry Livingston considers the value of interaction and interdependency between the generations.

Every year the Catholic Church celebrates World Youth Day to thank God for the gift of young people and to encourage them in their faith. Every few years, that celebration is extended into a week-long festival where hundreds of thousands of young people gather from across the world, culminating in an immense outdoor Mass celebrated by the pope.

This year’s World Youth Day will be in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1-6. It’s the first one since before the pandemic. Many years ago, when I was a youth minister, I had the pleasure of leading groups to two such events, one in Denver in 1993 and the other in Paris in 1997. Both were incredible, awe-inspiring experiences of the energy and enthusiasm of the young Church.

The largest World Youth Day gathering—which still ranks among the largest gatherings in human history, according to the Associated Press—was in 1995 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippines is a deeply Catholic country. It’s also a country with a strong Unbound presence.

Unbound’s Filipino programs involve young people in a variety of ways. Nadine was an Unbound scholarship student preparing to finish her university studies when she shared her story last year. Her younger brother Adrian is sponsored by a family in California. Their involvement in their community exemplifies the spirit of servant leadership that World Youth Day seeks to foster in young people.

Nadine volunteered with the Red Cross for seven years and served as president of her Unbound youth group. “Having those experiences in Red Cross and here in Unbound made me who I am today,” she said. “My leadership skills, my patience, my social interactions, my character and spirituality had been honed by my experiences.”

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The young and the old each have something irreplaceable to give one another. #CatholicMom

I came away from my two World Youth Day events reaffirmed in my belief that the young and the old each have something irreplaceable to give one another. Young people have idealism and vitality while older people have experience and wisdom. In the Unbound world, we often see testaments to this beautiful interdependency in multigenerational families, in staff and youth working together and in scholarship students helping elders.

Young people have incredible challenges, especially those who grow up in material poverty. Let us hold them in our hearts as we celebrate World Youth Day, and let us resolve to help give them hope and direction as they express their God-given abilities.

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Adrian, left, is sponsored through Unbound. His sister Nadine, right, was an Unbound scholarship recipient. Their proud mother, Shirley, stands behind her children.