The next World Youth Day, scheduled for August 3-8, 2027, will mark a historic milestone for the Church: the first time the global gathering of Catholic youth will be held in a non-Christian country. Source: CNA.
Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee, general coordinator of World Youth Day Seoul 2027 and auxiliary bishop of Seoul, emphasised the significance of the event during the recent Jubilee of Youth in Rome.
“Korea is the first non-Christian country to host World Youth Day,” Bishop Lee said. “At the same time, it’s the only nation that is divided in two. So, the main theme should be peace – peace between religions, peace between two countries.”
“I want to see the young people enjoying the immense love of God,” he added. “So that the next generation won’t send their children to war … This is my hope.”
South Korea, where approximately 31 per cent of the population is Christian and 51 per cent reports no religious affiliation, has seen a steady growth in conversions to Catholicism. Fr Isaac Severo, of Seoul’s Myeongdong Cathedral, said about 40 young adults are baptised each month at the cathedral.
“They go to the church and they ask, ‘How can I receive the baptism?’” he said.
In 2023, more than 51,000 people in Korea were baptised.
Catholics make up about 11 per cent of South Korea’s population of 52 million people. More than half of the population lives in Seoul’s metropolitan area, making the city among the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
Pope Leo XIV formally announced the 2027 World Youth Day dates during the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth on August 3 in Tor Vergata in Rome in the presence of about 1 million young people.
“After this jubilee, the ‘pilgrimage of hope’ of young people continues and will take us to Asia,” Pope Leo said.
“You, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: Let us continue to dream together and to hope together.”
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Next World Youth Day to be historic first in non-Christian country (By Courtney Mares, CNA)
