Pope Leo XIV Sends Korean-Language Message Urging Youth to Attend World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027

Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people to take part in World Youth Day Seoul 2027, the weeklong Catholic gathering of Masses, catechesis and cultural events scheduled for August 2027 in Seoul. He did so in a Korean-language message released by the Vatican on Tuesday.

“I am very much looking forward to seeing you in Seoul,” the pope said in the statement. He added that those who attend next year will have a special opportunity to experience the generous hospitality of the Korean Catholic Church.

World Youth Day was started by Pope John Paul II in 1986. Every few years a host city holds the event, which ends with a papal Mass that often draws more than a million people. The pope is expected to travel to Korea for the first time since becoming pontiff to attend the 2027 gathering.

In the message, the pope urged young Catholics to bring to Christ “not only your personal questions and wounds but also the wounds that tear apart your societies and set your countries against one another,” calling for a response to such divisions in the spirit of seeking reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). “Allow yourselves to be moved and touched by the reality around you!” he wrote.

He also addressed young people who are anxious about their future. He said they may feel pressure, compare themselves to “unattainable, manufactured ideals” or “curated images on social media,” and experience “loneliness, disappointment or the fear of not being good enough.” He emphasized that young people long for genuine affection and human connection, which technology cannot replace, he said, because it can only imitate empathy rather than provide genuine intimacy.

The Vatican’s Korean-language outreach comes as a separate meeting took place at the Vatican between Pope Leo XIV and President Lee Jae Myung, the first one-on-one meeting since Lee took office. The two exchanged gifts reflecting themes of prosperity, humility, guidance and reconciliation. During the meeting, Lee asked the pope to support peace initiatives on the Korean Peninsula and invited him to visit Seoul for World Youth Day 2027.

Chung Dong-young said the pope’s planned 2027 visit could revive inter-Korean exchanges, and he expressed hope that North Korean youth could also take part.

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