Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in and performed at World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon this month in Portugal’s capital city, with one interfaith leader representing the Church meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis.

Held Aug. 1-6 this year in Lisbon, World Youth Day is a gathering of thousands of young people, mostly ages 18 to 35, from across the globe. While Catholic in origin and with themes of “pilgrimage” and “celebration of youth,” the event welcomes young adults from every nationality, race and religion.

This year’s participants included Latter-day Saints from the seminary and institute programs in the southern region of Portugal, according to a report published on the Church’s U.K. Newsroom.

Also, Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Moreira, an interfaith representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joined other civil and international religious leaders — including Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, president of Portugal, in meeting with Pope Francis in Lisbon’s Belém Cultural Center.

Memorable experiences performing, participating

Highlighting the event’s opening day was a program called “Canto Pela Paz” (“Song for Peace”), which included performances by groups from many faiths.

Jerson Santos sings “We Are One” with Latter-day Saint young adult dancers on stage at “Canto Pela Paz” (“Song For Peace”), the opening-day event at the weeklong World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon on Aug. 1, 2023, in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saint young adult dancers presented a musical number titled “We Are One,” led by singer Jerson Santos. The performance received the support from local Church leaders and the For the Strength of Youth musical organization.

Latter-day Saint participants spoke of memorable experiences as they interacted with those of other religions and cultures.

Gonçalo Caneca, age 18, said that by participating in “Canto Pela Paz,” he was able to meet with people of other faiths and have “a great feeling” in sharing with others his own beliefs. “I also had a great feeling by seeing different people from different cultures together to talk and sing about peace, love and unity,” he said.

Caneca added that while he didn’t know how to dance very well, “my [choreography] leader helped me trust myself, and I was able to dance and represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on stage.”

Young adults from the Seminary and Institute southern region of Portugal pose with the beautiful Lisbon Portugal Temple in the background, in early August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Alehandra Severino, also 18, said: “Participating in this World Youth Day by representing my Church and my beliefs was really important to me. This event helped me to grow in different areas, especially socially. I am shy and introverted, but through the help of the leaders, I was able to feel confident and so happy.”

Church leader meets with Pope Francis

Pope Francis addressed the attending leaders and dignitaries after his arrival in Lisbon, which he called “a city of encounter that embraces many peoples and cultures, … that is grounded in the desire to be open to the world and to explore it, sailing toward new and more vast horizons.”

Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Moreira, left, an interfaith representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, greets Pope Francis, right, with Sheik David Munir of the Islamic Community of Lisbon looking on in early August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. © Vatican Media

Vatican Media, by way of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

He continued the analogy, referring to Portugal’s seafaring history and noting the southwestern European nation is bordered by an ocean. “The ocean does not merely link peoples and countries, but lands and continents,” he said, adding a reminder “to think of borders as places of contact, not as boundaries that separate.”

Moreira, a former Area Seventy who represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Interreligious Dialogue Task Force in Portugal, was interviewed by CNN and talked about the relationship between the Church and its leaders and the Catholic Church and Pope Francis. He referred to the March 2019 meeting between President Russell M. Nelson and Pope Francis, prior to the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple.

Pope Francis, center, joins civil and religious representatives at the Apostolic Nunciature Lisbon in conjunction with the World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon in early August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. © Vatican Media

Vatican Media, by way of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

President Nelson at the time underscored the significance — the first formal audience for a senior Church leader with a pope — was for Latter-day Saints to get to know Pope Francis as well as for His Holiness “to know us and finding we have so many points in common.”

The differences in doctrine are real and are important, he continued. “But they are not nearly as important as things we have in common — our concern for human suffering, our desire for and the importance of religious liberty for all of society, and the importance of building bridges of friendship instead of building walls of segregation,” said President Nelson, describing Pope Francis as a “dear, wonderful, humble, competent, gracious man, I respect him highly.”

In his interview, Moreira also spoke of his own experience with Pope Francis, who he called “a man who seeks fraternity and who emphasizes a joint effort with all religions to establish peace in the world.”

Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Moreira, left, an interfaith representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, meets with the young adult performers at World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon in early August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints