World Youth Day - the Legacy

The Galloway pilgrims are pictured at the end of Sunday's celebration of the Eucharist with Pope Benedict XVI and a congregation of two million. Each person in this photograph holds many encounters, experiences and aspirations in their hearts as a result of living World Youth Day with enthusiasm and faith.

Before leaving Spain, Pope Benedict expressed gratitude to the young pilgrims, saying: “Thank you, because the gift of your youth has given life to the Pope, has helped the Church to breathe anew, and has refreshed a world thirsty for hope and courageous spirit.”

The events of World Youth Day seek to provide an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. This encounter or meeting with Our Lord has great power to change us and to direct us to transmit His life, through our own lives, into the lives of others. The legacy of World Youth Day is the gift of this encounter with Jesus as we have experienced it and as we share it with others.

In the weeks and months that follow the fruits of the gift the pilgrims of Galloway have received will be made available on these pages to help share what the Pope has given to the young people of the world and to the universal Church during these heightened days of faith and Christian encounter.

Please make use of the links below.