World Youth Day is a celebration of faith begun by Pope John Paul II held on an international level every two to three years, and WYD2002 was the 10th such event.

Although WYD is designed for Catholics, it attracts sizable numbers of youths from other faiths and denominations and was presented as a multi-faith celebration of young people from all over the world.

[2] The Pope announced the decision to organize the WYD in Toronto during the Angelus of August 20, 2000 held on the large esplanade of Tor Vergata at the end of the World Youth Day 2000.

These are his words: "Before I dissolve this great and beautiful assembly, I wish to announce that the next World Youth Meeting will take place in Toronto, Canada, in the summer of the Duemiladue.

As I now invite the young people of the world to walk towards that goal, I address a special greeting to the Canadian Delegation, who wanted to be present at this celebration to collect the delivery of the future commitment.

In this way they experienced local culture; they also carried out social activities in the cities where they resided; they prayed with the young Canadians, and they organized parties and concerts.

The theme of this day were: "You are the salt of the earth" (Mt 5,13) It started at 2 pm at Coronation Park, a pleasant wooded area on the banks of Ontario (renamed for the occasion Duc in Altum Park), a large space where it was possible to pray before the WYD Cross and confess thanks to a Service of Reconciliation made possible by a large presence of priests of different languages.

In the afternoon the Youth Festival opened, where they found space for a varied panorama of artistic, cultural and spiritual experiences based on the life and faith of young people from all over the world; exhibitions, vigils, concerts, round tables, films, dances and theatrical events were organized at Exhibition Place.

Among the artists present were Antonella Ruggiero, Paolo Vallesi, Ceppe Cantarelli, Massimo Varini Trio, Lisa, Hope Music Group and Anna Tatangelo.

I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young.

At his arrival address, he thanked the local, provincial, and federal levels of the Canadian government for supporting the idea of hosting WYD.

[6] He led the Saturday evening vigil and presided over the Holy Mass on the Sunday, delivering a homily which focused on entrusting the future of the church to the youth.

Other versions were also released in localised languages which include the following Chinese versions released by Photon Distribution, Inc. on the disc entitled The Way 4 - Light of the World: A crowd of over 800,000[8] to 850,000 youths from all over the world was in attendance for these events,[9] a presence below expectations, mainly due to the international conflict that had shaken America and especially the United States after the attack of September 11, 2001.

Father Thomas Rosica, who was the national director of the World Youth Day 2002, is also the founder and executive officer of this television channel.