Preparations for World Youth Day (WYD) 2027 are already bringing activity to the Church in Seoul, South Korea. The event will bring together young people from around the world from August 3–8, 2027. Missionaries from Shalom Catholic Community are in the South Korean capital participating in the second preparatory meeting for the gathering.
The meeting began on September 14 and concluded on September 17, featuring prayer, work sessions, sharing, and meetings focused on preparations for the event. Representing the Community are Hérico Gabriel, youth ministry advisor; César Adrian, who oversees the WYD office within the Youth Ministry Advisory Office; and David Gadelha, a representative of the International Assistance, currently serving in the Rome mission.
“We are here working, discussing, praying, and taking part in meetings and experiences with the culture and the Church in Korea and Asia,” Hérico shares. For him, the days in Seoul are an opportunity to follow the final preparations for WYD 2027 up close and get to know more about the Church that will welcome the gathering.
An Unexpected Meeting with the Archbishop
During one of the lunches, the three missionaries received an unexpected visit. Archbishop Peter Soon-taik Chung of the Archdiocese of Seoul, who is responsible for WYD, asked to sit at their table. The conversation was relaxed and centered on vocation, the Church, and evangelization.
The archbishop wanted to learn more about the Community’s charism, and the missionaries introduced him to its founding experience: a community born among young people, to evangelize young people and offer its own youth to the Church. They also shared experiences from the Community, including the Halleluya Festival and the message sent by the Pope to the event held in Fortaleza earlier this year.
At the end of the meeting, the representatives presented Archbishop Peter Chung with a tile featuring the icon of the Risen Christ who Passed Through the Cross, found in the Church of the Risen Christ at the General Diaconia. The archbishop also recorded a message inviting pilgrims to take part in World Youth Day.
The Church Gathered in Seoul
The program also provided opportunities to meet other leaders involved in preparations for World Youth Day, including Cardinal Kevin Farrell of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, the Vatican office responsible for organizing WYD. Father João Wilkes, a member of the Community of Life who has previously served with the Dicastery, also took part and shared about the history of World Youth Day over the years.
Another memorable moment was the meeting with Bishop Américo Aguiar, the current bishop of Setúbal and host of WYD Lisbon 2023. For Hérico, the presence of representatives from different realities within the Church reflects the communion and synodality that characterize the preparatory meeting.
In addition to meetings and sharing sessions, the program includes visits to locations in Seoul expected to host the central events of World Youth Day, as well as sites connected to the history of the Church’s martyrs in Korea.
A Journey That Has Already Begun
For the Community, the days in Seoul also offer a preview of the experience that will take place in 2027.
“These days have been days of immense grace—a gathering, we could say, a start, a warm-up for what we are going to experience,” Hérico says.
WYD 2027 will have the theme “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” It will be the first World Youth Day held in a non-Christian country, where only 30% of the population is Christian. For Hérico, this strengthens the desire to see the Gospel spread throughout the country.
Shalom’s presence in Seoul takes place within a context of practical preparation, but also of prayer and communion with the local Church.
“We are here for each one of you,” Hérico shares, reminding the young people of the Community that the experience in Seoul is also being lived on their behalf.
