The World Youth Day (WYD) Foundation Lisbon 2023 and the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN) have signed a protocol of collaboration to deepen the journey of spiritual preparation for WYD Lisbon 2023.
Although this protocol was signed today, 2023, March 6, this collaboration already exists since 2020. In this regard, Bishop Américo Aguiar, President of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, expressed his gratitude for “all the progress made so far,” for what “they are doing for WYD, but especially for the Pope.
The collaboration established between the PWPN and the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation has been translated, over the past years, into a set of prayer proposals through Click to Pray and Step to Pray.
On the first Saturdays of each month, a prayer proposal for WYD Lisbon 2023 has been made available through Passo a Rezar (Step to Pray). This is prepared by a team from WYD Lisbon 2023 and the coordination, production and recording is done by PWPN-Portugal, in collaboration with Radio Renascença. In addition, on the 23rd of each month, a day marked with initiatives in preparation for WYD Lisbon 2023, Click to Pray dedicates a prayer to WYD Lisbon 2023.
The protocol, signed by Archbishop Américo Aguiar and the International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Fr. Frédéric Fornos SJ, provides that Click to Pray will make available, from July 30 to August 6, three daily meditations (in text and audio format). The same meditations will also be available on the official application of WYD Lisbon 2023, following the prayer itinerary defined by the spirituality team.
Click to Pray, the Pope’s prayer app, similar to what already happened during WYD Panama 2019, will help young people around the world, during WYD Lisbon 2023, to pray with and for WYD Lisbon 2023. In this way, it will be possible to expand the WYD Lisbon 2023 prayer community, since the Click To Pray application, available in seven languages (Portuguese, English, Italian, French, German and Traditional Chinese), can be used by the youth present at the meeting, but also by those who cannot be physically present.
Under this protocol, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network will also make available for WYD Lisbon 2023 Click To Pray eRosary. This is a free digital application that helps and teaches how to pray the rosary for peace, through audios and the presentation of the pedagogy of the Mysteries of the Gospel for each day. This platform provides materials in five languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian and French.
The WYD rosary will be published in Click To Pray eRosary.
Fr. Frédéric Fornos SJ said that The Pope Video, which is made available every month, will have a special edition in August, with the Holy Father’s prayer request for the young people who will take part in the meeting.
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Work with the mission of mobilising Christians, through prayer and action, to the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church that the Holy Father expresses in his monthly prayer intentions. The Eucharistic Youth Movement is its section for children and young people. This Pontifical mission is present in 89 countries and brings together more than 22 million Catholics (including 1,700,000 children and youth)