The 2023 Lisbon WYD, scheduled for August 1-6, is now just around the corner. On July 27, a first group of young people and friars left the Basilica of Saint Anthony by bus bound for the birthplace of St. Anthony. There they will participate, along with hundreds of thousands of their peers, in the great event of the summer of 2023, in the presence of Pope Francis.
They will also bring with them a distinguished relic of St. Anthony, which will then be displayed at some international public moments of prayer and blessing. To underscore the link with the Saint "of" Padua, but "from" Lisbon, the young participants will wear a dedicated T-shirt showing friar Anthony with a smile, carrying the names of his two cities in his hands.
The friars of the Youth and Vocation Ministry of Provincia Italiana di S. Antonio di Padova have drawn as many as 175 young people in this adventure, a significant number, though not comparable to the thousands enrolled by dioceses in many locations around the world.