Wojciech Rogacin – Vatican
The enthusiasm and strength of the youth
Asked about what struck John Paul II the most when he arrived in Rimini in 1982 to meet over 200,000 young people, Card. Dziwisz replied: “Enthusiasm.” And he added: “The enthusiasm and strength of the youth wishing to move forward and be missionaries of the beauty of the Church.”
John Paul II wanted to go to the youth
This captivated John Paul II. Furthermore – as the former personal secretary of Pope Wojtyła says – John Paul II understood that young people were searching for answers to life’s questions, that they were sensitive, which is why he wanted to be with these young people, to go to them.
“Not everyone could come to Rome to meet the Pope. Hence the idea to go to them,” Card. Dziwisz explained. He admitted that this thought also guided John Paul II when he initiated World Youth Day with the gathering of young people in Rome in 1986.
The shared joy of being Christians
“And the youth in Rimini truly demonstrated the joy of being Christians, and the Pope’s presence helped them in this,” Card. Dziwisz added in an interview with Tg2.
Leo XIV in Rimini on Saturday
44 years after that event, when over 200,000 people gathered at Mass with John Paul II in the port of Rimini, Pope Leo XIV is heading to this tourist city. He is the first Successor of Peter after John Paul II to visit Rimini during the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, organized this year for the 47th time by the Comunione e Liberazione community.
Leo XIV’s visit to Rimini will begin in the early afternoon on Saturday, August 22, 2026. The Pope will meet with the participants of the Meeting, to whom he will give an address, receive the poor and needy, and also celebrate Mass on the port quay.
