Melbourne young adult Abigail remembers being surrounded by millions at the vigil sleep out for World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. ‘[There] was a glorious silence among us during the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,’ she recalls. ‘There is nothing greater … the Lord was really present.’
Abigail was describing her World Youth Day experience to the 600-plus crowd that gathered at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Thursday 20 August for the launch of the Archdiocese’s pilgrimage to next World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea, which will take place from 3-8 August 2027.
Thursday’s launch event (‘SeoulFest’) began with an hour of prayer with the Blessed Sacrament, led by Archbishop Peter A Comensoli. Festivities then spilled out onto the Cathedral grounds with a Korean food truck, music and a special badge-making station for would-be pilgrims.
‘I went to WYD Lisbon with the Archdiocese and I wanted to check out what it’ll be like for WYD Seoul’, said Sophie from St Joseph’s Parish in Chelsea. She said she hopes more young people will ‘embrace the opportunity if you have the chance to go, and just try to get involved in as many activities as you can when you go there!’
The Archdiocese is offering three pilgrimage options to the 2027 World Youth Day—via Japan, via the Diocese of Incheon for an experience of the local church (Days in the Diocese), and a pilgrimage direct to Seoul.
[E]mbrace the opportunity if you have the chance to go, and just try to get involved in as many activities as you can when you go there!
A special door prize was offered on the night with four lucky winners scoring $500 vouchers to go towards their pilgrimage of choice. Adding to the excitement were members of Melbourne’s Korean Catholic community who taught the crowd some basic Korean phrases including ‘annyeonghaseyo’ (hello), ‘gamsahamnida’ (thank you), ‘ne’ (yes) and ‘aniyo’ (no).
Jared from Our Lady’s Parish in Craigieburn said it was ‘so good’ to see so many youth gathered ‘all in the one spot’ for SeoulFest, and that he is ‘definitely’ going to World Youth Day Seoul. ‘I want to go on the Japanese pilgrimage because I love the story of the 100 Japanese martyrs, and I want to see more of the faith throughout other parts of Asia.’
‘There’s going to be all sorts of great moments during these days ahead, including gathering with Pope Leo,’ said Archbishop Comensoli. In addition to the Masses and catechesis offered at World Youth Day, the Archbishop pointed to some of the quieter moments on pilgrimage that can be just as powerful. ‘Moments like reconciliation, healing … forgiveness. And quiet moments of prayer, gathering, and of finding new friends.
There’s going to be all sorts of great moments during these days ahead, including gathering with Pope Leo
‘I am praying for all of you already and I will continue to do so. My prayer is that we might all be a part of that pilgrimage to World Youth Day. We’ve got a destination: our destination is Jesus.’
World Youth Day 2027 will be the first to take place in Asia since the event was hosted in Manila, Philippines, where more than five million people joined Pope John Paul II at the final Mass. And despite being the first non-Christian majority country to host a World Youth Day, South Korea has a rich Catholic history, with thousands of Christian martyrs killed for the faith over the centuries. This includes St Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest.