At Nossa Senhora da Assunção Parish, in Cascais, pilgrims from South Africa and Philippines gathered for the first of three Rise Up Encounters that will take place from the August 2nd until the 4th of August.

Pilgrims arrived excited, with big expectations for the World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023. Sabina Dimayuga, from Philippines, said the Opening Mass held yesterday, August 1st, at Colina do Encontro, "was a beautiful moment, because even though we all have different languages, we were all united in prayer during Mass, something I had never experienced before and that I will never forget".

For Gladness Mashubuka, from South Africa, WYD manifests the power of God by bringing together young people from all over the world to celebrate the faith. She also highlighted that moments like this allow us to get to know other cultures and their hospitality. For her, the Days in Dioceses (DND) that she lived in Braga expressed the South African concept "Ubuntu", which means that "one person is only a person because of other people".

With the theme "Mary arose and left with haste" (Lk 1:39), the Encounter began with an "icebreaker" dynamic, in which young people went outside the Church and sang and danced together to the South African rhythm. After that, they entered the Church, where they experienced moments of prayer and sharing.

The Philippine Cardinal D. Luis Antonio Tagle was responsible for conducing the catechesis. He began by recalling WYD Manila 1995, which was his first World Youth Day and is still today the World Youth Day with the largest participation, bringing together about four million pilgrims.

At the end of catechesis, there was a moment open for questions. Asked if he was happy, Cardinal D. Luis Antonio Tagle replied "yes" and that "to be happy, we must always remember that we are not the saviors and redeemers," because "if we act like that, we take Jesus out of His place and we want to take His position." For the common Filipino "joy is not just laughing all the time, but to keep a light heart". Cardinal D. Luis Antonio Tagle also mentioned that, in situations of conflict, the ideal is to choose what is really important, so as not to lose peace in what does not pay off.

To close the Encounter, Cardinal D. Luis Antonio Tagle celebrated the Holy Mass together with Filipino and South African Priests.