Ana Carolina is 22 years old and was a central volunteer in the World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023, on the security team. Before World Youth Day, she already had some notions of what it meant to serve others in this way, however, she confesses: “Being a volunteer in this World Youth Day was much more than that, no matter how tired we were, it was impossible for that tiredness not to be a happy tiredness”.  

Throughout the week, Ana Carolina accompanied the events at the Colina do Encontro and at Campo da Graça, ensuring the safety of everyone. On this World Youth Day, which was her first, she admits to having been surprised: “I didn’t expect to be so moved by seeing all the young people, coming from so many parts of the world, gathered around this love for Christ”. In that sense, she shares: “Being a volunteer is another confirmation of Faith that makes me feel it so alive within me, so present”. Of the Holy Father’s words, she highlights the sentence that struck her the most: “No one should look down on anyone unless it is to help them get up” and she mentions that “this thought, more than being beautiful, is something that we should all practice”; she will take this message with her, she’s certain.  

Cláudia Venâncio had the opportunity to serve on the stage of the Youth Festival. “Surprising” is the word she chooses to describe the experience. “I felt that I should serve in this WYD with a mission and I found much more than I expected. I encountered an incredible diversity of experiences within the same Faith, across different cultures. It was a significant learning experience; furthermore, it took place in my own country”, she says. The fact that she was living this experience so close to home was transformative: “It made me want to serve even more, knowing that we were doing something very meaningful”, she adds. Therefore she assesses these days very positively, believing that “they were great for everybody”. 

Daniele came from Italy, from the region of Sardinia, and worked as a volunteer in the area of social media. “I came here not knowing what to expect and found a fantastic atmosphere, full of people from different countries, who shared their testimonies with me and made me a much richer person”, he says. “It’s very beautiful to see that through our work as volunteers, we can inspire and touch so many people”, he adds with a smile on his face. He worked on and adapted WYD Lisbon 2023 content for social media in Italian and, if he had to choose just one moment from this World Youth Day, he would have a hard time, as he confesses that there were very happy moments. Nonetheless, he guarantees that what moved him the most was the end of the Missioning Mass, when Pope Francis thanked everyone and mentioned that each person will carry within them everything they experienced this week. It moves him to think that all these feelings will continue to live within him forever, and hearing that from the Pope’s voice made it even more special.  

Michael Reyes came from the Philippines and was a volunteer in social media management and communication channels in his native country. He has been volunteering since Rio de Janeiro World Youth Day, in 2013, but this experience in Lisbon was different from the previous ones, as he was part of a team. If he had to summarize what being a volunteer means to him, he would say: “Contributing with talents, time and energy to the Church, to God. We are here to give back to God the talents He gave us, that is the reason why we volunteer. God is very good to us, He gives us many Graces and we use them to give back to Him, through service”, he says filled with joy.  

On this World Youth Day, thousands of volunteers participated in different areas, both at the central and parish levels.