Youcat is a 2011 publication, named by its authors as: "Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church", because it aims to be an aid for youth to better understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...

. The book, drafted in the form of a conversation, is intended for use by Catholic youths around the world and is available in 25 languages, including Arabic and Chinese. Youcat is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2005). The Catechism has 304 pages and consists of four chapters with 527 questions and answers.

The foreword was written by Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

. Approximately 700,000 copies of Youcat were distributed in thirteen different languages on behalf of the Pope during World Youth Day 2011

World Youth Day 2011

World Youth Day 2011 was the 2011 occurrence of World Youth Day, a Catholic event held from August 16-21, 2011 in Madrid, Spain focused on youth...

 in Madrid.

Background

Youcat started developing in 2006 under the direction of Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn by German-speaking theologians, religious educators and priests with the participation of over sixty young people who brought their questions to the intelligibility of the texts and photographs which stayed at his disposal.

The German edition was published on 25 March 2011 in Munich by Pattloch.

Languages

Youcat was first published in fifteen languages: English, French, Danish, Flemish / Walon, Italian, Croatian, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, Slovak, Slovenian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Russian, Indonesian. Chinese and Arabic editions are planned. Overall, the Youth Catechism is published in 25 languages.