About 8,000 young Catholics from across the country will gather in the Archdiocese of Caceres next week for the National Youth Day (NYD) festivities.
Organizers said NYD 2025 will be an opportunity for pilgrims to come together to pray, worship, and celebrate their Catholic faith.
This year’s event is welcoming delegates and volunteers from 84 of the country’s 87 ecclesiastical territories, along with representatives from at least 22 national youth organizations.
Participants are traveling from as far as the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao in the north to the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo in the south.
“Almost all the dioceses have representatives… this is really a national event,” said Juan Carlos Madrid, head of the NYD steering committee.
Delegates will stay with foster families in various parishes. As in past NYDs, Madrid said that interaction with families is “an integral part of the celebration.”
Organizers have also made contingency plans to accommodate pilgrims in formation houses, seminaries, and convents.
Modeled after elements of World Youth Day, the national gathering will include catechesis, witness talks, creative performances, prayer vigils, and Masses.
Also held in the context of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the June 10 to 14 celebration is designed “to sustain in us the spirit of hope,” said Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon of Caceres.
While the main events — including the opening Mass on June 11 and the closing Mass on June 14 — will be held in Naga City, other activities will take place in host parishes throughout the archdiocese.
“We hope that what is strengthened in them is not just hope, but also the desire to serve and to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others,” Archbishop Alarcon said.
“We pray that all these activities will truly be enriching personally, communally, both as church, both as community, both as people of God and as nation,” he said.
Some events open to the public, such as the Traslacion of the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia from her basilica to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral on June 12, are expected to draw larger crowds.
“We are estimating around 12,000 to 16,000 people from Catholic schools and universities coming together for the procession,” said Allen Reondanga of the Naga City Risk Reduction and Management Office.
As many attendees serve as youth ministers, the event will also feature a dialogue with youth leaders.
“And we hope that when they go home they will become better youth ministers… their experiences will enrich them in serving their fellow young people,” Archbishop Alarcon said.
