How it all began...

In 1984 more than 300,000 young people from all over the world came to Rome for an International Jubilee of Youth on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square. They were responding to the Pope's invitation to celebrate the exceptional Holy Year of Redemption in 1983/84, marking the 1,950th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, on the evening before Palm Sunday the Pope called out to the young people:

"What a fantastic spectacle is presented on this stage by your gathering here today! Who claimed that today's youth has lost their sense of values? Is it really true that they cannot be counted on?"

At that time John Paul II entrusted to the world's youth a symbol of Christ's love for humanity 'to be carried throughout the world': the huge wooden cross, now known as the 'World Youth Day Cross'

And so began the Pope's personal quest for a way to make something more permanent out of this massive show of faith by the young.

A year later, the United Nations made 1985 the 'International Year of Youth'.  The Pope saw this as a wonderful opportunity to organize another great gathering of youth for that year and invited the world's youth to celebrate with him in Rome on Palm Sunday - more than 250,000 youth responded to this call.

Inspired by these 2 great events, Pope John Paul II wanted to bring together young Catholics from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis. 

A week after the youth meeting the Pope announced the establishment of World Youth Days as an annual event:

"The Lord has given his special blessings to this gathering [on Palm Sunday], so in the coming years a celebration of the world day of youth shall be held on Palm Sundays in collaboration with the Council for the Laity." Pope John Paul II

World Youth Day was born.  It became a defining characteristic of Pope John Paul's papacy, seen as a way to reach out to the next generation of Catholics, demonstrate confidence in them, rejuvenate the church and carry forth its teachings.

The basic tenets of World Youth Day are:

• An expression of the universal Church
• An instrument of evangelization of the young
• An 'Epiphany' of the youth of the Church
•  An effective sign of ecclesial union
• A pilgrimage of faith, both spiritually and practically

The First World Youth Day 

The first World Youth Day was held in Rome in 1986 on Palm Sunday, and each year World Youth Day is celebrated at a Diocesan level on Palm Sunday.
Every 2-3 years a massive international gathering celebrates in a different 'host city' -Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Czestochowa (Poland), Denver (USA), Manila (The Philippines), Paris (France), Rome (Italy), Toronto (Canada), Cologne (Germany) have all been hosts.
The international World Youth Days are marked by a week long series of events for evangelisation, attended by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of youth from all over the world.

The World Youth Day Cross & Icon of Our Lady 

The WYD Cross and its pilgrimages

The World Youth Day Cross is the most significant tangible symbol of World Youth Day. Originally the idea of Pope John Paul 11, the 3.8 metre high wooden Cross was built and placed as a symbol of the Catholic faith, near the main altar in St Peter's Basilica during the Holy Year of 1983. At the end of that year, Pope John Paul gave this cross as a gift to the youth of the world, to be carried through the world as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity.

"My dear young people, at the conclusion of the Holy Year, I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee Year: the Cross of Christ! Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity and announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption."
His Holiness Pope Jean Paul II, Rome, 22 April 1984.

Since then, the World Youth Day cross has travelled far and wide - it has been throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, South America and The Philippines, to Poland and Prague, to the German Parliament and even to Ground Zero in New York. It has been carried by commercial airline, light aircraft, dog sled, pick-up truck, tractor, sail boat, fishing boat and on shoulders. From parish churches to youth detention centres, prisons, schools, universities, national historic sites, shopping centres, nightclub districts and parks. It is truly an international symbol for Catholic youth.

The  Icon of our Lady
On Palm Sunday in 2003, the Pope introduced a new element for WYD: from then on, the WYD Cross would be accompanied on its pilgrimage by the Icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani.

"Today I also entrust to the delegation from Germany the Icon of Mary. From now on it will accompany the World Youth Days, together with the Cross. Behold, your Mother! It will be a sign of Mary's motherly presence close to young people who are called, like the Apostle John, to welcome her into their lives." (Angelus, 18th World Youth Day, 13 April 2003).

This icon, a copy of a venerated icon in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, was present at the Vigil and Papal Mass of WYD 2000 in Tor Vergata in Rome.

Handover of the WYD Cross and Icon of Our Lady

Following the tradition established since the first international World Youth Day, the Handover of the Cross and Icon takes place on Palm Sunday in St Peter's Square as part of the Palm Sunday Mass celebrated by His Holiness. The Cross is officially 'handed over' by youth of the last host city, to youth of the upcoming host city.

As for preceding WYDs, the Cross and Icon will undertake a 'Journey of the Cross' throughout Australia and Oceania from Palm Sunday 2007 to July 2008, touching the lives of thousands of people as a sign of hope and pilgrimage.

You will be able to follow the progress of the WYD Cross and Icon on its journey after the Handover in Rome.

http://www.wyd2008.org/index.php/en/wyd_cross_icon