World Youth Day Nianing 2026: Young people in search of meaning and hope

The mass has barely ended when the emotion already extends beyond the liturgical framework. In Nianing, at the end of the diocesan World Youth Days, young people are not only leaving a place, they are continuing an experience. Between persistent songs, fraternal gestures and still vibrant words of the Gospel, the face of a believing youth emerges, standing, aware of its fragilities but determined to move forward. Here, faith is not recited, it is lived, experienced and embodied.

MBOUR – Sunday March 22, 2025, at the Saint-Jean college in Nianing, which hosts the diocese of Dakar on the occasion of the 41st edition of World Youth Day (WYD). Around 2 p.m., the young people slowly come out. Like held back. As if we had to tame the outside world again after this suspended time. The white of their t-shirts, radiant with the edition’s theme “Take courage!” I have conquered the world,” still catches the light of day, still intense, but giving the crowd the appearance of a procession that refuses to end. On the faces, nothing is pretended. The smiles are wide and the eyes shine with joy.

A few meters from the altar, groups spontaneously reform. It laughs loudly. It’s called from one end of the esplanade to the other. The songs do not stop abruptly; they transform, disperse, then reborn elsewhere. A refrain intoned here is taken up further, amplified, like a living echo. The hands begin to beat time, the bodies follow. The liturgy is over, but the celebration continues. “Frankly, we didn’t want it to end,” says Joseph, still out of breath. Around him, his friends approve without hesitation: “We prayed, yes… but we also experienced something between us. In addition, young people responded well to the call. That’s what stands out.” This joy also inhabits François Ngom, who came from the Notre-Dame de la Paix parish in Diamaguène. With a smile on his lips, he savors every moment. “I am very delighted to relive these moments of sharing, of reconciliation, but above all of reunion within the Christian community,” he confides, his voice calm, as if charged with emotion. These days awaken intimate memories in him. “It reminds me of our first outing, right here, at a time when I aspired to become a priest,” he adds, with a touch of nostalgia.

The joy of being a Christian

Of average height, the young man also does not hide his enthusiasm at the announcement of the next edition planned in the deanery of Thiadiaye, not far from his native village. A closeness that particularly touches him. “It’s a date not to be forgotten! », he says with a burst of laughter, his gaze already turned towards this reunion to come. In the air, a warmth persists. It is not just that of the sun. It also comes from bodies close together, shoulders brushing against each other, hugs exchanged without restraint. We hold each other as if we have known each other forever. Or as if we had just discovered ourselves essential to each other. Further on, young Élisabeth Diouf closes her eyes for a few seconds. His lips still whisper a prayer.

“I wanted to keep that within me, not to lose what I felt,” she then confides. She searches for words, hesitates, then smiles: “It’s difficult to explain… but it’s strong.” Established in 1984 by Pope John Paul II, World Youth Days are now held in all dioceses, offering young people a space for spiritual and human encounter. In Senegal, they are part of a particular dynamic: that of young people faced with multiple challenges, but in search of solid benchmarks. “We need this. We experience a lot of complicated things, but here, we remember that we can hold on,” underlines Victor Mendy, student at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. In his words, there is a lucid gravity, but also a form of rediscovered peace. The homily, delivered a few moments earlier, still resonates in people’s minds. “Take courage!” I have overcome the world”, taken from the Gospel according to Saint John. A phrase that many repeat, almost mechanically, but whose meaning seems to have taken shape. For these young people, it is no longer abstract. It becomes a key to reading everyday life. “It means we shouldn’t be afraid.

Even when everything is difficult, you have to move forward,” explains Marie-Louise. She pauses. “And above all, not to be alone.” Because this is also what these Jmj reveal: a thirst for connection. In an often fragmented society, these young people experience a rare unity here. Social, cultural or educational differences seem to disappear. The main thing remains: to be together, carried by the same faith.

An invitation to renew our faith in our Lord

Daniel Birame Faye, from the Saint-Dominique university parish, speaks with quiet conviction. For him, the theme goes far beyond the words displayed: “It is an exhortation, an invitation to renew our faith in our Lord Jesus, but not only in words. It is in our everyday actions that this must be seen.” In his eyes, a certainty: faith cannot be fixed. It is experienced, proven, embodied. “Above all, we are reminded that hope never disappoints. Even when it is difficult, even when we doubt, we must continue to believe and act as witnesses of Christ,” adds the slender young man. His testimony consists of making each daily gesture a living expression of faith and letting hope guide each step. Gestures say a lot. A hand placed on a shoulder. A shared laugh. A gaze that lingers. Nothing extraordinary in appearance, but everything becomes meaningful. Even the dust raised by the footsteps seems to contribute to this singular atmosphere. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

This biblical word takes on a particular resonance here, because what is experienced goes beyond simple gathering. There is a diffuse presence, difficult to name, but felt by many. Beyond the emotion, an invitation emerges: to extend this experience into everyday life. “We can’t go home and go back to the way we were before,” insists Marie, in a soft voice. “This must be visible in the way we treat others.” The Gospel according to Saint Matthew reminds us: “You are the light of the world”. A strong image that these young people are ready to embody. The sun continues its course, lower now. The shadows are lengthening, but no one is really rushing to leave. As if everyone wanted to take away a little more than memories: a strength, a direction. Already, the conversations are moving towards what comes next. “Next year, we will be there again, in Thiadiaye, please God,” promises a group, almost in unison. The impatience is palpable, not out of simple enthusiasm, but because this meeting has taken on an essential place. In a world often described as uncertain, these young people move forward differently. They doubt, yes. They sometimes fall. But they choose to believe. Again. And together.

“Your word is a lamp to my steps,” says the psalm. For many here, that lamp has just been lit again. Little by little, the place becomes empty. The songs become more spaced out. The voices are falling. But there remains a message. Like a breath. Like an echo. And in hearts, a conviction persists, tenacious: they were witnesses. And now they become witnesses themselves. Of this joy. Of this hope. Of this light which, far from going out, is barely beginning to diffuse.

• By Adama NDIAYE, Special Envoy