Since last year, we have been nurturing the dream of taking part in World Youth Day 2027 in Korea. When the opportunity finally arose to take a concrete step and register as delegates of the Focolare through the Google form, we immediately set off on our journey, full of enthusiasm and hope.

Then we began to get a better idea of the costs of the pilgrimage: airfares, accommodation, food and all the other expenses. For many people, this is a considerable sum and we know that we need to prepare well in advance. For some of our young people, however, that dream suddenly began to slip away, to the point where it seemed unattainable.

One of them said to me, “I’m sure my mum won’t let me go.” Shortly afterwards, he confided something to me that deeply moved me. Every time he comes to our youth training sessions, he travels about 60 kilometres from his home and takes up to eight forms of public transport just to be there. But it wasn’t the distance that struck me the most. It was what he told me: “I don’t ask my parents for money for transport. I save from my daily pocket money. At school, I skip my snack to save up enough money for the trip, because my parents can’t afford to give it to me. So, going to Korea for WYD is impossible.”

To think that, while other youth can go about their daily lives with peace of mind, he even gives up his snack just to join us! And he doesn’t just come to take part in the meetings: whenever he can, he also helps me with formation activities for other young people. I realised that even if he saved all his pocket money for a whole year, he would struggle to come up with the amount needed for the pilgrimage to Korea. And yet he keeps coming. He continues to give of himself. He keeps saying yes. Then he said to me, “Even if I can’t come with you, I’ll still help you with the preparations.” Those words stayed with me.

Shortly afterwards, the opportunity arose to start the process of applying for passports. As soon as one of the others heard about his situation, she immediately offered to help him financially. I was deeply touched. The vulnerability of one young person had stimulated the generosity of another. A need had opened up a space for love. And from that first gesture, love began to spread. It was then that I realised, once again, something essential about WYD.

WYD is not just for those who can afford to travel. It is also for those who feel called and who respond with faith, hope and courage, following Pope Leo XIV’ recent message.

We feel called to go beyond ourselves. We learn to look beyond our limitations, to seek new solutions, to share what we have. The desire of these young people challenges us not to give up in the face of what seems economically impossible.<br/>

We no longer just ask ourselves: “How will this young person manage to pay for the trip?” Instead we begin to ask: “What can we do together so that he can come too?”

This makes us more attentive, more sensitive. Love grows. Generosity multiplies and the community becomes more human. We still don’t know how things will turn out, or whether all our young people will be able to go to Korea. But this experience has strengthened my conviction that we must do everything possible to support them.<br/>

The journey has already begun and continues every time someone stops thinking only about their own dream and starts to make it another person’s dream too.

Perhaps the greatest miracle of WYD will not just be finding ourselves in Korea one day, together with millions of young people from all over the world. The miracle is that, even before we get there, we are already learning to become one family.

This too is WYD. This too is formation. This too is a beautiful way of encountering God.

Mary Ann Tolentino
Photo: Courtesy of the Focolare community in Aklan, the Philippines