Prayer Of Mercy For WYD

This morning, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, presented the official prayer and logo for the 31st World Youth Day! The logo, which includes the flame of Divine Mercy, can be seen here. 

World Youth Day 2016 is to be held in Krakow, a city that still remembers the legacy of Polish Saint John Paul II quite well. The official prayer asks for the intercession of the late Holy Father, who is now the patron saint of World Youth Days.

Let us say this prayer, entrusting all people, especially the young, to the warmth of the Lord’s Divine Mercy.

God, merciful Father,

in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love

and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,

We entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.

We entrust to you in a special way

young people of every language, people and nation:

guide and protect them as they walk the complex paths of the world today

and give them the grace to reap abundant fruits

from their experience of the Krakow World Youth Day.

Heavenly Father,

grant that we may bear witness to your mercy.

Teach us how to convey the faith to those in doubt,

hope to those who are discouraged,

love to those who feel indifferent,

forgiveness to those who have done wrong

and joy to those who are unhappy.

Allow the spark of merciful love

that you have enkindled within us

become a fire that can transform hearts

and renew the face of the earth.

Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for us.

St. John Paul II, pray for us.

WYD 2016 Where Blessed John Paul II Felt At Home

At the largest closing mass for World Youth Day since 1995, Pope Francis announced that the next World Youth Day would be held in Krakow in 2016.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, welcomed Pope Francis’s decision with joy.

In this, he has responded to the desires of so many young people who have long wished to celebrate their faith in the country and the city of Karol Wojtyła, who set off for the Eternal City from Kraków in October 1978, and who, as John Paul II, Bishop of Rome, instituted World Youth Days.

Among the many pastoral initiatives of John Paul II, World Youth Days has undoubtedly been among the most successful, far-reaching and fruitful. The Blessed Pope, since the beginning, saw in young people the “morning watchmen (Isaiah 21:11-12), keeping vigil at the dawn of the Third Millennium” (Tor Vergata, 19 August 2000).

Blessed John Paul II often said that he felt very much at home in Krakow, where he served as Archbishop from 1964-1978. How appropriate is it, then, that his beloved young people will gather there soon after his canonization?

Blessed John Paul II, please pray for all of those who are returning from Rio, that the fruits of World Youth Day may settle rightly in their hearts. Please also pray for those who are already preparing for World Youth Day in Krakow, that they may be guided by your witness and your love for young people.