The image reflects the theme the pope has chosen: Mary set out in haste.
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The new logo of World Youth Day reflecting the change in date to 2023, due to the pandemic, was unveiled October 16.
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for WYD in Portugal is “Mary rose and left in haste,” from the Gospel of Luke’s description of how Mary went quickly to her cousin Elizabeth, upon hearing from the angel that Elizabeth was expecting a baby.
The organizers of WYD in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, chose to reveal the logo on October 16, the anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul II, the creator of World Youth Days.
The logo features the colors of the Portuguese flag and elements of the country’s spiritual culture.
A cross dominates the new logo, a road runs over it, “where the Holy Spirit rises,” specifies the organizers, who see in it an invitation to young people “not to stand idly by.” The image is an invitation to “be the protagonists of the construction of a more just and fraternal world.”
This path reflects the road Mary took to visit Elizabeth. “Mary was ready to live according to the will of God, available to serve Elizabeth,” the statement read.
The rosary represents the spirituality of the Portuguese people and their devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. This is placed on the path to recall the experience of pilgrimage that is so important in Portugal.
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Fatima is less than 70 miles from Lisbon, and it is anticipated that great numbers of the youth will visit the place of Mary’s apparition to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, during the days of WYD.
Finally, the figure of Mary is present. “The drawing expresses the youth of her years, characteristic of one who is not yet a mother but who carries the light of the world within her,” specify the organizers.
Behind this work which will accompany the hundreds of thousands of participants in WYD hides Beatriz Roque Antunez, a Portuguese artist of 24 years. She studied design in London and currently works in a communication agency in Lisbon. For her, her work should encourage young people to take charge, not to remain inactive, and to build the world of tomorrow.
