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The purpose of World Youth Day is threefold:
World Youth Day is a coming together of young adults from the four corners of the world and a strong reminder of the strength and confidence the young bring to the Church today.
World Youth Day is not simply a gathering for the young people of the world, but a time to put trust in the world's youth. A calling for the world's youth to come together as one people.
It is still a marvel in this the 21st Century to exchange with others and to be a part of an international experience. International events are able to stir much hope but also many fears (increase in fundamentalism, nationalism and other new conflicts. . .) The Church and Christians themselves have a role to play in preventing the development of these fears, and in aiding each person in finding their way and discovering hope.
Since 1984, Pope John Paul II has been gathering young people from all over the world. The history of attendance at previous World Youth Days (at the closing mass with the Pope) is as follows:
| YEAR | LOCATION | USA ATTENDANCE | TOTAL ATTENDANCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984/5 | Rome, Italy | Not known | Two gatherings of 300,000 each |
| 1987 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Not known | 900,000 |
| 1989 | Santiago de Compostela, Spain | Not known | 400,000 |
| 1991 | Czestochowa, Poland | Not known | 1,600,000 |
| 1993 | Denver, USA | 180,000 | 500,000 |
| 1995 | Manila, Philippines | 1,000 | 4,000,000 |
| 1997 | Paris, FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. | 13,000 | 1,200,000 |
| 2000 | Rome, Italy | 20,000 | 2,000,000 |
| 2002 | Toronto, CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe | 57,000 | 800,000 |
Even though the international World Youth Day gatherings happen about every 2 years, World Youth Day itself is celebrated each year. Some of the 'total attendance" numbers above reflect the total population at the closing Mass which includes many locals who attended only that one event.
The next XX World Youth Day will be held in 2005 in CologneThe article about perfume can be found at Eau de Cologne. Cologne ( German: Koln [ˈkœln]) (population 965,954 as of December 31, 2003), is the fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the North Rhine-Westphalia state. It is one of, GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east