"After having crossed the continents, this Cross now returns to Rome bringing with it the prayer and commitment of millions of young people who in it have recognized the simple and sacred sign of God's love for humanity. As you know, precisely Rome will host the World Youth Day of the year 2000, in the heart of the Great Jubilee." Message of John Paul II for WYD 2000, June 29, 1999
The Official hymn "Emmanuel", sung in Italian, Spanish, English and French, was composed by Marco Mammoli, Marco Brusati, Mauro Labellarte and Massimo Versaci and arranged by Valter Vincenti. It was performed by Giuseppe Barbera.
Logo
The logo summarizes the three fundamental elements of the World Youth Day: the place, the protagonists and the meeting. The city of Rome is represented by the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and the arms of the Bernini colonnade. The image of the dome recalls the reality of the Church and the pontiff. The meeting between the Church and the world takes place through an "embrace", which represents the Church that welcomes the young Catholics of Rome. For the colors, three flat colors of the same gradation werde chosen: yellow, orange and red. Yellow and red are the colors of the city of Rome, while the orange symbolizes the meeting as it is a mix between these two colors.
Events
The international level celebration of World Youth Day in 2000 was meant to coincide with the Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope John Paul II, to celebrate 2000 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. This is also reflected in the theme for the celebrations.
The program of the Days
The Pope greeted the pilgrims in St. Peter's Square before the WYDs, "Days in the Dioceses" were held, which for the first time included volunteer experiences.
Tuesday 15 August
The fifteenth WYD officially began in the afternoon with the opening mass in Archbasilica of St. John Lateran presided by the Pope reserved for young Romans and Italians. Subsequently, the Pope moved to St. Peter's Square in which there was a celebration of welcome reserved for young foreigners.
Wednesday 16 August
Beginning of the three days of morning catechesis for the participants, held in some churches in Rome and neighboring dioceses divided by linguistic groups held by cardinals and bishops from all over the world. From this day it was possible for the young participants take the Jubilee Pilgrimage crossing the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica.
At noon all the church bells of Rome played at the Angelus prayer party. The young people went to the Tor Vergata area, reached in the evening by the pope who presided the vigil. John Paul II called the young people "sentinels in the morning" and invited them not to resign themselves to the injustices of the world. The pope asked all participants to defend peace, to make the world more and more habitable and to say their "yes" to Christ as the center of their ideal and realization of happiness. "If you are what you must be, you will burn the world"!
157 countries were represented at these world days. According to the organizers, about two million young people participated, one of the highest registered, but less than five million from the Manila edition. The French delegation is quite important, a logical consequence of the enthusiasm for the World Youth Day 1997 in Paris, including also 12,000 Germans. In Italy, journalists coined the term "Papaboy" to indicate the young people who attended the meeting. The term soon became commonplace to indicate the participants of all subsequent gatherings with the Pope.
