Vatican shares details of WYD Seoul 2027

The Vatican shared this Tuesday, September 24, the details of the XLI World Youth Day, which will be celebrated in Seoul in 2027 with the title: “Have courage: I have conquered the world.”

“It will be in South Korea, in Seoul!”, as Pope Francis announced at the closing Mass of WYD in Lisbon, in August 2023, which will be the next city to welcome young Catholics from around the world. .

A path of spiritual preparation

This long-awaited meeting will be the culmination of a path of preparation that will begin next November 24, with the celebration of World Day in particular Churches.

This day, the solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, the youth of Lisbon will hand over the symbols of WYD to those of Seoul: the Youth Cross and the icon of María Salus Romani peopleas a “passing of the relay” that marks the beginning of spiritual preparation.

Before Korea, Pope Francis also awaits you in Rome during the Youth Jubilee, which will take place in July 2025 under the title “You too bear witness, because you are with me.”

WYD returns to Asia after 29 years

This morning’s media appearance at the Holy See Press Office included Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, and Bishop Peter Soon-Taick Chung, Archbishop of Seoul and President of the Seoul 2027 Local Organizing Committee.

Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee, General Coordinator of WYD, and Gabriela Su-Ji Kim, a young Korean woman, also participated.

As Cardinal Farrell noted, young people are now sent on pilgrimage from West to East as “a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church and the dream of unity” and to rediscover the beauty of the Christian life.

After Manila in 1995, WYD returns to Asia, specifically to Korea, where Catholics represent 11% of the population.

However, according to the cardinal, even though it is a minority, the Church is still alive and “is enriched by the heroic testimony of so many martyrs, from whom a light of faith and hope continues to emanate with great force that reaches all. believers in all parts of the world.

He also highlighted that this global meeting can be an opportunity for young people to discover their vocation and to reflect on the “loss of meaning that often characterizes life in the most developed societies.”

“More than just a meeting”

For his part, Bishop Peter Soon-Taick Chung highlighted that the Korean Catholic Church “is a testimony of the voluntary and dynamic faith of its first faithful, who received the seeds of the Gospel without the help of missionaries, guided by the Holy Spirit.”

Therefore, in 2027, young people around the world are expected to meet with those “who have inherited the firm faith of their ancestors” and who together rekindle “a passionate zeal for the faith.”

“The Pope has accepted the request of our Church”

The Archbishop of Seoul recalled that during periods of persecution, the first Korean faithful sent “desperate letters to the Pope, fervently requesting missionaries to preserve their faith and join the universal Church.”

This calling prompted Pope Gregory XVI to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Chosun, thus sending missionaries and allowing the faith to flourish despite persecution.

“As he did with the early Korean Church, the Pope has once again accepted the request of our Church, inviting young people from all over the world to join the WYD pilgrimage,” he noted.

For Bishop Soon-Taick Chung, the next WYD will be “more than just a meeting”, a significant journey “in which young people, united to Jesus Christ, will reflect and debate the current challenges and injustices they face” , and where they will become “brave missionaries”, inspired to live the joy of the Gospel they have found.

They will offer the prayer of “a billion rosaries”

Mons. Paul Kyung Sang Lee, General Coordinator of WYD, reported on all the initiatives that will be developed in the host city in preparation for the 2027 meeting.

Among them, he specified that starting in February of this year, a campaign dedicated to offering “one billion rosaries” will be launched.

“It is our fervent hope that, through this pilgrimage, you will come to discern the power of hope conferred by faith and experience a profound personal encounter with Christ within the universal Church,” he commented.

WYD Seoul 2027 logo

Likewise, he explained the details of the logo of this meeting that “will mark an era.” In the center of the image there is a cross and the colors red and blue have been used, which symbolize the “triumphant victory of Christ over the world.”

The red on one side of the cross symbolizes the blood of the martyrs and the blue represents the “vitality of the young and the call of God.”

The yellow color that shines behind the cross represents Christ, who is the “Light of the World” and He guides the Church towards unity.

The element on the left, oriented upward, indicates God in the sky, while the element on the right, oriented downward, symbolizes the earth, “illustrating the fulfillment of God’s will on Earth through of his unit.”

It is also inspired by traditional Korean art and also captures “the vibrant energy of youth,” artfully incorporating the letters JMJ into its composition.