Lisbon:

The World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023 Foundation delivered to the Food Bank Against Hunger over 500 tons of food, a surplus from the WYD meeting. The international festival of the catholic youth was held in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, from August 1 to 6 last year.

The WYD 2023 Foundation and Food Bank collaboration benefitted more than 145 thousand people in need. In a note to the Agency ECCLESIA, it was said that at the end of the Campo da Graça mass, they started collecting the food left in Parque Tejo, the main site for the global event.

The institution said, surplus goods collected were distributed to 925 social solidarity institutions spread across the country. Food Banks are Private Social Solidarity Institutions that fight against the waste of food products, sending them for free distribution to people in need. Their website read, that the action of Food Banks is based on gratuitousness, donations, sharing, volunteering, and patronage. They collect and distribute several tens of thousands of tons of products and support the activities of institutions in Portugal throughout the year.

The 36th WYD, held during the first week of August, focussed on the theme "Mary arose and went in haste" (Lk 1:39). The event was attended by more than 300,000 pilgrims from over 200 countries around the globe.

On the final day of the global event, Pope Francis led the closing Mass at a riverside park in the Portuguese capital which witnessed the participation of about 1.5 million people. The 700 bishops and 10,000 priests who concelebrated the Mass distributed the communion to the people.

The South Korean capital Seoul will host the next edition of WYD in 2027.