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The Lord has led the Project to open her doors to unique initiatives to build the civilization of love & truth today.

These are never events run solely by staff. We heavily rely on the JP2 Project family- supporters, partners, and especially our alumni — to implement these plans.

World Youth Day

John Paul II is the founder of World Youth Day (WYD). He is now honored as a central “patron saint” for each new WYD worldwide. In 2023, we hosted an official “youth festival site” of WYD in Lisbon, Portugal, to pass on the legacy of our patron to the next generations. 

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Service Camps​

Children learn English while discovering God’s love, growing in virtue, forming friendships, and living the joy of childhood in a day camp for eight days. Our young adults learn the joy (and challenge) of giving of themselves and forming young ones as they intensely train for, organize, and run these camps.  

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USA Relic Tour​

Why did we bring JP2’s relic to the USA? On October 16, 1978, the world met history’s first Polish Pope, who proclaimed that infamous exaltation, “Open wide the doors to Christ!” This historical event changed the course of history, not only for the Church but for the whole world.

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We move with the Holy Spirit and the rhythm of the Church to share our mission with the world

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World Youth Day:

Our 4-day prayer vigil with the relics of St. John Paul II and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati was conducted by JP2 Project alumni, who served as the on-site missionaries and behind-the-scenes organizers. We partnered with USCCB and hosted speakers such as Chris Stefanik, Jason Evert, Archbishop Aquila (Denver), Bishop “Bob” Lombardo (Chicago), and Bishop Philip Egan (UK) to reach an estimated 20,000 youth. Read the news article by Our Sunday Visitor or take a look at the page created for the event with the schedule and information. 

The experience in Lisbon affirmed a calling for us to step up in World Youth Days and support the global church in passing on the legacy of JP2 to the next generation. We saw the need and now hear the call to continue to add value to WYDs by being a part of them. As such, the JP2 Project plans to host another major youth festival site for WYD 2027 in Seoul, South Korea.

Note that our alumni who worked the site not only got to make their own WYD pilgrimage together but served as the young adult leaders for a small youth pilgrimage of teens from Poland, Ukraine, and the USA we took to Portugal. While our focus will remain on running an actual WYD event rather than organizing large groups, we plan on bringing some of our JP2 Project family on a pilgrimage to WYDs to come.

Learn more about the history of WYD here from a fantastic organization that focuses on group pilgrimage planning for WYD.

Service Camps

Our English immersion camps were born to serve Ukrainian refugees pouring into Poland. Our first camp launched in 2022 in Kraków, Poland, five months after the devastating war broke out, with 12 students and three nuns serving nearly 100 children. 

The program was intensely formative for the young adults who led them and life-changing for the children who participated (and their families). There was no doubt that we would repeat the program for the summer of 2023, with our squad growing to 18 young adults and improving their training and preparation time. 

That fall, we ran a mini 4-day camp, which enjoyed the participation of our seasoned summer campers who just can’t get enough! A special thanks to Concordia University for making this camp part of their ministry-study abroad program. 

With a desire to build more service into our study abroad and being inspired by our friends at Concordia, we decided to incorporate the next camp in Kraków into the program of the JP2 International Fellowship.

Designed for ages 5-17, the camp is a week-long day camp with games, sports, faith formation, music, creative activities, prayer, and food. As immersion is the best form of learning, the camp is led by native English-speaking young adults. Teens proficient in English are invited to serve as junior assistants and translate when necessary. The week is marked by a Saturday hiking excursion and a Sunday Family Day, where parents are invited to hear their children sing or read at Mass and join in a big BBQ, parish-picnic style, with games and activities.

USA Relic Tour:

By his side as Pope, and during the preceding years while serving as archbishop of Kraków, the now Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz served as John Paul II’s personal secretary- advising, supporting, and witnessing his ministry.  

The fall of 2018 marked the 40th anniversary of John Paul II’s election to the papacy, and the MacDonalds were scheduled to head back to the US to visit college campuses nationwide. Days before boarding a plane, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz entrusted the MacDonalds with a first-class blood relic of St. John Paul II. 

Through God’s providence and people’s open hearts, the MacDonalds hit the road for a two-month pilgrimage with the relic — from Florida to Massachusetts, from Minnesota to Colorado. An estimated 2,500 college students, parishioners, and children were directly impacted in this time of prayer and veneration of the relic. Read the article by the National Catholic Register.