South Korea to host next World Youth Day

Korean pilgrims at WYD. Image: ICN

At the conclusion of the World Youth Day Mass on Sunday 6 August, Pope Francis announced that Seoul, South Korea, will host the next World Youth Day international gathering in 2027.

He also invited the young people present to come to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year, calling it the "Jubilee of Young People".

Later he tweeted: 'am giving young people throughout the world an appointment to celebrate the Jubilee of Youth together in Rome in 2025. In 2027, #WYD will take place in South Korea, in Seoul. From Europe it will move to the Far East. This is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church.'

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul expressed his joy at the news He said he sees World Youth Day as "a great opportunity for all of us because although the culture and language are different, we can feel we are the same, God's people, we are one."