(ZENIT News / Rome, 11. 20. 2025) – During the Wednesday General Audience on November 19, Pope Leo XIV announced that the second World Children’s Day (WCD) will be celebrated in Rome from September 25-27, 2026.
Promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, the WCD will be a time of encounter, prayer, and celebration in which the youngest children and their families from all over the world will participate.
“My thoughts are also with the children, whom I will have the joy of meeting during the event dedicated to them, scheduled for September 25-27, 2026,” said the Pope.
At the end of the General Audience, Majd Bernard, a seven-year-old boy from Gaza, and the Coordinator of the event presented the Pope with the flag bearing the official logo of the next World Children’s Day. The Holy Father blessed and signed the flag, which thus became a symbol of the journey toward the 2026 event.
“On the upcoming World Children’s Day, the Church wishes to once again dedicate special attention to the world of childhood and the natural environment in which children live and grow: the family,” affirmed Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. “It is necessary to show children the beauty of peace, a peace that is experienced firsthand in their families, in the communities they frequent, and throughout the world. Children understand the value of peace well and suffer greatly when they perceive tension and conflict around them, beginning with their parents or in their immediate surroundings. Therefore, we hope that the upcoming World Children’s Day will be a magnificent opportunity for the Church to show its closeness to children and their families, offering them hope and joy.”
The first World Children’s Day, celebrated in 2024, brought together nearly 100,000 children from 101 nations. The event, which resonated deeply within the universal Church, left an indelible mark of fraternity and hope. With the second edition in 2026, the Church renews its commitment to listen to and value the voices of the most vulnerable, protagonists of a world that yearns for peace, acceptance, and a better future.
