Next World Youth Day to be first in Christian-minority country

When St. John Paul II called the first “Jubilee of Youth” back in 1984, he kicked off an incredible tradition. 

World Youth Days, held every two to four years since 1985, became massive Catholic festivals that have changed the lives of millions of young people around the world, and continue to do so.

Each World Youth Day (WYD) brings together hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of young people for a week-long celebration of faith, community, and culture. 

But the next WYD — planned to take place in Seoul, South Korea, from August 3–8, 2027 — will set a new historical record.

Seoul 2027 will be the first ever WYD held in a country where Christians are a minority, and only the second WYD to take place in Asia.

The first WYD in Asia set records too: The 1995 closing Mass in the Philippines set a world record for the largest number of people gathered for a single religious event, with 5 million attendees. (This number was surpassed in 2015 when Pope Francis visited the Philippines: His concluding Mass drew an estimated 6 to 7 million people.)

But the upcoming event in Seoul stands out for its totally one-of-a-kind cultural atmosphere. 

Father Fabiano Rebeggiani, Vice Director of the International Division of the Local Organizing Committee, said in a presentation for foreign diplomats:

Father Rebeggiani reflected on the highly unusual history of the Catholic Church in Korea.

Korean Catholic history began in a way unlike any other nation in the world.

Most nations point to foreign missionaries as their first contact with the Gospel of Jesus.

But not Korea. It’s famous as “the only country in history that evangelized itself.”

In the late 1700s, Korean scholars and researchers learned about Catholicism from reading Western books. 

Without any priests or missionaries, Korean laypeople came to believe in Jesus and spread the Gospel among themselves.

Their enthusiasm spread fast. Ten years passed before a priest made it out to those early Christians. 

But by the time a priest arrived in 1795, there were already some 4,000 Catholics in Korea.

Five waves of harsh persecution threatened the Church in Korea between 1791 and 1882, when Catholics were finally permitted to practice their faith openly. That first priest was martyred, so the Korean Church once again had to survive without a priest—for three decades.

But as so often happens, the blood of the martyrs became the seed of faith. When two priests finally arrived in Seoul in 1836, they found a community of 6,000 Catholics persisting in practicing their faith, despite all the odds.

Korea remains the only country in which the Church was formed domestically, without missionary activity from foreign clergy.

South Korea today is still a Christian-minority nation. Some 12% of the population is Catholic—about 6 million people—and only 30% of the population is Christian at all. 

Pope Leo XIV’s visit will be a landmark event for the nation, and a joyful celebration for its small but mighty Catholic community.

Before his death, Pope Francis chose the theme for World Youth Day Seoul 2027, which is this verse from John 16:33:

The theme fits this brave and unbeatable Catholic community—a nation who desired Christ so much they sought Him on their own, and wouldn’t let persecution or any hardship destroy their faith.