Pope Francis arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the 28th World Youth Day on Monday, July 22nd. He addressed government officials, dignitaries and the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff with these words: Madam President, Distinguished Authorities, Brethren and Friends! In his loving providence, God wished that the first international trip of my pontificate should take ...

Saint Rose of Lima Isabel Flores was born in Lima, Peru in 1576. Rosa was her nickname because of her beauty. She was the first saint of the Americas and is noted for her intense life of prayer and penance. Although she experienced many difficulties in her life, she maintained an extraordinary serenity, imitating the ...

Salt and Light Photo: The National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil By Sebastian Gomes World Youth Day Rio is about to begin and everyone is wondering what Pope Francis is going to say and do on his first trip back to South America.  Well, last week I may have uncovered a major clue. A ...

Today the Salt + Light team attended mass at a local chapel, just off Copacabana beach. As Fr. James Phalan, CSC, Director of Family Rosary International, joyfully remarked at the beginning of this English-speaking mass, usually about seventy people attend, but today was well beyond capacity with standing room only! And it was good. It ...

As a Technical Producer for Salt and Light in his second WYD, my experience of Rio started months ago with the search for solutions to all the details of a live broadcast. Since our arrival my mind has been busy with possible outcomes to our work, it has been easy to fill my senses with ...

St Therese of Lisieux St Therese was born in France in 1873. When she was 15 she entered a Carmelite monastery, where she lived with humility and simplicity her total trust in God. In 1927, she was proclaimed Patroness of the Missions because of her deep desire to be a missionary, and for her extraordinary ...

In the summer of 2011, 600,000 young people arrived in Madrid, Spain for the 26th World Youth Day – the largest Catholic gathering in the world. If you missed what happened in Madrid, or want to learn about the fruits and legacy of this World Youth Day, this week, on a special SL Radio rebroadcast, ...

Download World Youth Day’s Liturgy Book for Rio 2013. The book includes the Official WYD Prayer, the message of His Holiness Benedict XVI, message from Archbishop Orani João Tempesta, the WYD 2013 Hymn, the Liturgy of the Hours, Patron Saints of the Day, a guide to Confessions, the Order of the mass for all the major events, the ...

Luis Martinez, left, a World Youth Day volunteer from Mexico, enjoys a meal with his host family, Danielle and Leandro Franca in Rio de Janeiro April 16. Martinez is one of about 4,500 international volunteers who will contribute to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, July 23-28. To find out more about this year’s ...

How fitting: We set off on our journey to Rio on the Feast of St. Bonaventure. While on a stop-over in Panama airport, during Evening Prayer in the airport chapel, Fr. Rosica reminded us that this saint’s name literally means “bona aventura” or good adventure. That’s what World Youth Day is: An adventure in faith. ...