About World Youth Day

World Youth Day is an international event organized by the Catholic Church to allow hundreds of thousands of young people (ages 18-35) from around the world to join together and celebrate their Catholic faith. First organized by St. John Paul II in 1986, World Youth Day builds the bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples, and cultures. Typically celebrated every three years, the event gives young adults the opportunity to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ and experience the universality of the Church.

2016 World Youth Day College Knights Pilgrimage

The Supreme Council took 30 college Knights from the United States, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia and Poland on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day. This pilgrimage allowed college Knights  to encounter Auschwitz, the Divine Mercy Shrine, and the Tatra Mountains before joining with other young adults in Kraków for World Youth Day.

College Knights on Pilgrimage: Speaking Mercy, Witnessing to Hope

The Knights of Columbus also sponsored the Mercy Centre, an English-language catechetical site for all English speakers. More information on this site can be found here

The Knights of Columbus History with World Youth Day

The Knights of Columbus history with World Youth Day began with the 1997 event in Paris, France, when the Supreme Council invited a group of college Knights to attend as pilgrims. Since this first involvement with World Youth Day, the Supreme Council has also taken college Knights to World Youth Days in Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011) and Kraków (2016) . In Sydney, Madrid and Kraków, the Supreme Council sponsored English-language catechesis and youth festival events, which were run in part by college Knights.

Learn more about the Knights of Columbus involvement in World Youth Day