WYD in Seoul

From 3 to 8 August 2027, Seoul will welcome the young people of the world with Pope Leo XIV. It will be the first WYD in Asia since Manila 1995 and the first in a country where Christians are a minority: in Korea Catholics are only 11% of the population, but it is a living Church, born of the witness of lay people and watered with the blood of its martyrs.

The motto, chosen by Pope Francis, is the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, spoken just after He foretold persecution. They do not promise an easy life, but something deeper: Christ’s definitive victory over evil, sin and death. That is why the logo combines the red of the martyrs’ blood and the blue of youthful vitality, the colours of the Taegeuk on the Korean flag.

It is also the goal of a journey: from “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lisbon 2023) to “Pilgrims of hope” (Jubilee 2025), and now to the courage to proclaim it. What the Pope hopes for is not just a trip to Korea, but an inner journey of conversion —also for those who have never experienced a WYD— so that young people arrive there as courageous witnesses of the Risen One and sowers of peace in a world broken by divisions, conflicts and wars.