Catholic World Youth Day to be Held in Lisbon on August 1... Seoul Likely Host for 2027

August 1-6 Main Tournament Held
Pope Participates in All-Night Prayer on Eve of Mass
Seoul Likely Host City for 2027

The 37th 2023 Lisbon WYD (World Youth Day) main event will be held in Lisbon, Portugal from August 1 to 6, the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul announced on the 25th. This global youth festival was established following Pope John Paul II's invitation to young people worldwide to Rome in 1984-1985. It is expected that 2 million people from 150 countries will gather in Lisbon this time. Anyone can participate regardless of religion.

From Korea, Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop Jung Soon-taek, and nine other bishops will participate in the main event. More than 1,000 young people and priests from across the country will also head to Portugal.

Before the main event, a 5-night, 6-day schedule includes a home stay program where young people from around the world experience the culture of the host country and meet with parish communities. The main event will proceed with an opening mass, catechesis, and sending mass, and the day before the sending mass, the Pope will participate in an overnight prayer vigil.

The Pope participating in the WYD main event is being welcomed by the participants.
[Photo by Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul]

On the last day of the event, the next host city will be announced, and Seoul is strongly expected to be the host in 2027. Past papal visits to Korea occurred three times in 1984, 1989, and 2014. If confirmed, this will be the fourth papal visit.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul stated regarding the possibility of the Pope’s visit, "In an era full of uncertainty and confusion, it will provide young people with an opportunity to reflect on their roles and also offer comfort to citizens weary of life."

The socio-economic impact is also significant. According to consulting firm PWC Portugal, the added value generated by hosting this WYD Lisbon event is estimated at 564 million euros (approximately 800 billion KRW). From a productive perspective, the effect is predicted to be up to 1.1 billion euros (approximately 1.5 trillion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.