[5] On Pentecost Sunday, 27 May 2012, the World Youth Day Office released the names of the official patron saints for WYD2013.

[7] Day 2013 logo incorporates colors and famous symbols of Rio de Janeiro, including the Christ the Redeemer statue, the Sugarloaf Mountain, and coastline and water.

The logo design was based on the official World Youth Day 2013 theme of the Great Commission from the Gospel of Matthew, and includes the use of colours found in Brazilian flag.

The official logo was presented to President Dilma Rousseff by Rio de Janeiro governor, Sérgio Cabral Filho on DVD.

[10] The official website for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro was www.rio2013.com and offered social networking through Google+, Twitter, Facebook and RSS feed.

[15] Cardinal Barbarin canceled his participation after suffering a heart incident in Guyane, where 700 French WYD pilgrims were stranded due to airliner failure.