The official logo of World Youth Day 2023 has been presented by the Local Organisation Committee.
The organisers of the next World Youth Day in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in 2023, chose to reveal the logo on October 16, the anniversary of the election of Pope St John Paul II, the creator of World Youth Days.
The logo of WYD Lisbon 2023 was inspired by the gathering’s theme “Mary arose and went in haste.” (Lk 1:39).
Its principal element is the Cross, the sign of the infinite love of God for humanity. On the Cross, a path has been traced which recalls how Mary, ready to follow God’s will in her life, set out on the road and to serve her relative Elizabeth. This element underscores the invitation addressed to young people to renew “inner vitality, your dreams, your enthusiasm, your optimism and your generosity.” (Christus Vivit, 20)
A visual explainer of elements of the logo for the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. Image: World Youth Day Lisbon 2023/Facebook.
Two other significant elements appear alongside the depicted path. One of these evokes the Holy Spirit, and the other—a rosary—is a reference to the devotion of the Portuguese people to Our Lady of Fatima and is reminiscent of the experience of pilgrimage, which is something very widespread in Portugal. Mary here is depicted as a young girl, recalling the figure in the St. Luke’s Gospel (Lk 1:39) that expresses the freshness of one who is not yet a mother, who nevertheless carries within herself the Light of the World. The figure is bowing slightly, to show the Virgin Mary’s disposition towards obedience. The colours in the logo—green, red, and yellow—references the Portuguese flag.
A visual explainer of elements of the logo for the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. Image: World Youth Day Lisbon 2023/Facebook.
The creator of the logo, Beatriz Roque Antunes, is 24-year-old Portuguese designer who works in an advertising agency in Lisbon. “As the theme of the WYD Lisbon 2023 states, Mary is not complacent and decides to go and visit her cousin. This is the invitation addressed to young people: do not stop, build up the world, and do not leave it in the hands of someone else… We all need everyone to take the world into their own hands,” says Beatriz, whose design won the logo contest for the upcoming World Youth Day that will see youth from around the globe gathered together in Lisbon.
With thanks to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
