At the conclusion of World Youth Day in Krakow on July 31, 2016, Pope Francis announced that the next World Youth Day will be held in Panama in 2019.

This will be the first World Youth Day held in Central America and will also be the first time a pope has visited panama since Pope John Paul II’s visit there in 1983.

Panama is a small country, but Cardinal Jose Lacunza Maestrojuan who is the head of its bishops council is confident that the country will be able to successfully organize the event. “Panama, with its canal, is a bridge between two continents, and we’ll also make it a symbolic bridge between young people, especially in Latin America,” Cardinal Lacunza stated.

While it’s still early and final dates have not yet been announced, we encourage any group leaders planning on attending this next World Youth Day to contact us as early as possible in order to begin the planning process.