A group of six Bermudians joined more than one million Roman Catholics from around the world in Lisbon, Portugal to take part in World Youth Day celebrations this month.

Established by Pope John Paul II in 1985, World Youth Day is recognised annually every Palm Sunday, but hundreds of thousands of Catholics come together for an international celebration every three years.

Participants attend Mass, engage in seminars, socialise with other young people and adore the Blessed Sacrament during the event, which ends with a visit and message from the Pope.

This year’s conference, the first to have an official Bermuda delegation in attendance, took place from August 1 to 6.

Father Attilio Morelli, pastor at St Joseph’s and St Anthony’s Catholic churches, helped organise the trip.

He said: “I felt my duty to encourage the youth of Bermuda to experience the beauty of this event and to foster a love for the holy father as an important element of our Catholic church.”

Father Attilio, whose experience at a World Youth Day conference in Poland in 1991 led him to become a priest, added: “These events are also a help for the youth to find their personal vocation to prepare for married life to be lived in a true Christian dimension or to discover the call of the Lord to priesthood, consecrated life or other forms of missions.

“I am happy that we are finally able to bring a group of Bermudians to this event.”

Father Attilio hopes the event helped the participants, who have been preparing for the conference for months, have a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

He continued: “We surely hope to continue in the coming years to encourage people to participate in this event which happens every three years.

“We are confident that we are going to have a larger representation from this beautiful island in the future.”