World Youth Day Seoul 2027 Enters Final Preparation Phase

With a year left before the World Youth Day (WYD) in Seoul scheduled for 3‑8 August 2027, the local organizing committee has moved into the implementation stage. The official hymn, "Confidite, Ego Vici Mundum," composed by South Korean Francis Jiyoon Kim, was selected from 434 submissions (294 from abroad) and will be launched on 3 August 2026 alongside the international "Breath of Life" ecological campaign that urges young people to plant trees worldwide.

The committee is opening pilgrim and volunteer registrations in the second half of 2026, with 378 volunteers already involved. The event will host thousands of youth from around the globe in parishes and families across fifteen Korean dioceses, marking the second WYD held in Asia and the first in a nation where Catholics comprise about 12 % of the population. Archbishop Peter Soon‑taick Chung, president of the organizing committee, emphasized the goal of making the gathering a "celebration of hope and a testimony of Korea's hospitality and solidarity."