World Youth Day Rio 2013: resignifying spaces of the city and religious identities

Abstract

Based on field work over World Youth Day (WYD) Rio 2013 and interviews with “pilgrims’ hosts”, this article discusses how this religious-cheerful event made itself present on the public space and in the house of its residents and how it has impacted the subjectivity of Catholics from the poorest neighborhoods. By spreading “pilgrims” all over the city, including areas marred by the high percentage of evangelical devotees, WYD brought to its inhabitants the possibility to meet Catholics from other countries awakening their perception of the church’s dimension and, among Catholics, the pride to belong to an “universal flock”. In addition, by WYD public events, some of these Catholics had the opportunity to experience the noble and rich city’s areas which for them were distant and far.

Keywords WYD Rio 2013; publicization; Catholicism; city