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World Youth Day is the gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. The next one is in Seoul, and we’re going.
서울 is “Seoul” in Hangul, the alphabet created by King Sejong in 1443.
The cross joins two Korean brushstrokes: the red, the blood of the martyrs, and the blue, the vitality of young people. The yellow is Christ, light of the world. Inside is “서울” in Hangul. It came out of a survey of more than 2,500 young people and was drawn by a young Korean woman who is not a believer.
© WYD Seoul 2027 Foundation · registered trademark.
BCN amb el Papa is the website of the young people of the parishes of Sant Mateu, Sant Rafael and Sant Narcís, in Barcelona. It is not an official website of the Holy See, the Archdiocese of Barcelona or WYD.
“I warmly invite you to go to Seoul.”
Leo XIV · video message of 22 October 2026
Play the video (YouTube, 2:42)When you play it, YouTube may store cookies in your browser. With Spanish subtitles.
Summary: On 22 October 2026, the feast of St John Paul II, the Pope opened registration. He says it is not just an invitation to discover a new city: “it is a call to set out on a pilgrimage of faith, friendship and hope”. He asks us to bring our dreams and also our wounds. He ends: “I hope to see you in Seoul”.
Official WYD Seoul 2027 channel on YouTube · 2:42
WYD 2023 was held in Lisbon, at the western tip of Europe. At the end, Pope Francis announced the next one at the other end of the world: “it is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church”. It is the second WYD in Asia, after Manila 1995.
The faith reached Korea through books brought from China, not with missionaries. John Paul II called it “a community unique in the history of the Church”, because it was founded by lay people alone.
Catholics make up 11% of Koreans: almost six million. Cardinal Farrell calls it a minority Church but one “full of vitality” and “enriched by the heroic witness of so many martyrs”.
Korea has been split in two for more than seventy years, and the Church there works for the reconciliation of the Korean people. The Fides agency calls it “the first WYD in a divided nation”.
Peter Yi Seung-hun is baptised in Beijing and, on his return, baptises the first Koreans, who gather where Myeongdong Cathedral stands today. For half a century there will be only two priests, both from China.
Six great persecutions and some ten thousand martyrs.
After the faithful wrote to the Pope asking for priests, Gregory XVI creates the vicariate of Korea.
Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest.
John Paul II canonises 103 martyrs in Seoul.
Almost six million Catholics.
Andrew Kim TaegonPaul Chong Hasang
At 15 he went to study in Macau. In 1845 he was ordained near Shanghai and became the first Korean priest. He returned in a wooden boat, the “Raphael”, and the following year he died a martyr at Saenamteo, in Seoul, aged 25. He is one of the patron saints of this WYD.
Of the 103, 92 were lay people; the youngest, Peter Yu Dae-cheol, was 13. Their feast day is 20 September.
St John Paul II (the crozier), St Andrew Kim Taegon and companions (the red stole), St Frances Xavier Cabrini (the steamship), St Josephine Bakhita (the broken chains) and St Carlo Acutis (the computer).
Loving Lord of all young people, we thank you for inviting us into your infinite love and mercy.
Our Father, we entrust ourselves to you. May young people everywhere be comforted in the embrace of your Church, and come to share deeply in the joy of communion and unity.
Lord Jesus Christ, you overcome the world, both now and forever. May all people discover the hope that lies in your call to take courage, realizing that the cross of love and forgiveness is the true victory over the world.
O Holy Spirit, Flame of Love, by your wondrous hand you have sown the seeds of faith in Korea.
Kindle the flame of the Korean martyrs’ faith in our hearts, making us into disciples who live out the gospel of peace, love, and truth.
Lord, we pray that through this pilgrim journey of World Youth Day we may listen to each other, discern your will, and become a synodal Church, walking together with all of God’s people.
Amen.
Our Lady of mercy and peace, pray for us.
Holy patrons of World Youth Day Seoul 2027, pray for all young people.
Official prayer for WYD Seoul 2027, released by the Local Organising Committee on the Solemnity of Christ the King 2025
Santiago de Compostela, 1989, with the motto “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6).
44.1 km linking Myeongdong, Seosomun, Saenamteo and Jeoldusan; in 2018 the Vatican recognised it as Asia’s first international pilgrimage site.
Seoul is further south than Barcelona (37.5° compared with 41.3°), but the straight line climbs as far as 60° N.
In August, when it’s 14:00 here, it’s 21:00 in Seoul.
In 1984, 60,000 young people were expected in Rome and more than 250,000 came; Manila 1995 brought together some 4 million, and around 500,000 are expected in Seoul.
It is 3.8 metres tall and has travelled by boat, by sledge, by crane and by tractor; it is now touring fifteen Korean dioceses until June 2027.
On the hottest days, Koreans eat samgyetang, a hot chicken soup with ginseng; in August, Seoul can reach 38 °C.
The programme, the news and the frequently asked questions about WYD.
The official registration platform, in six languages, including Spanish.
For now it’s called “WYD 2027”: the final name will come from a competition. It’s on the App Store and Google Play, in Korean and English; Spanish will follow later.
“Confidite, ego vici mundum”, by Francis Jiyoon Kim, chosen from 434 entries. It was released in a classical version and a pop version.
The hymn page · Classical version (YouTube) · Pop version (YouTube)
Consulted and checked on 30 October 2026.
