World Youth Day is actually a week-long event for young people from around the globe to gather and celebrate their Catholic faith.  Initiated in 1985 by Pope John Paul II, the celebration takes place in a different location every few years and attracts hundreds of thousands of youth.  A group of students and teachers from Portsmouth Abbey attended for the first time in 2011, when the event was held in Madrid, Spain.

The next World Youth Day celebration will be held in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Two of the Portsmouth Abbey students who participated in the 2011 World Youth Day, Akunna Onyiuke '12 and James McField '12, shared their thoughts with us about the event. 

Read Akunna's and James' accounts.

View photos from the 2011 World Youth Day celebration.