Pope to Visit South Korea for First Time in 13 Years... Seoul Airport to Host 'Mass for 1 Million'

Pope Leo XIV to make first visit to South Korea since taking office next August
Welcome ceremony at Seoul World Cup Stadium on August 5; Sending Mass on August 8
Fourth papal visit to South Korea... First WYD in a non-Christian country

Pope Leo XIV will visit South Korea in August 2027. It will be the first papal visit to the country in 13 years, since Pope Francis visited in 2014, and Pope Leo XIV's first visit to South Korea since taking office. He is expected to be welcomed by 300,000 people at Seoul World Cup Stadium and celebrate Mass at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, before a crowd of up to 1 million.

Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful during an event in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. He is scheduled to visit South Korea for the first time since his inauguration to attend World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul. AP-Yonhap News Agency

The organizing committee for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 held a press briefing on the 5th at Coste Hall in the Myeongdong Cathedral Cultural Center in Seoul, announcing the major events scheduled for August 3-8 next year and plans for the Pope's participation.

On the third day of the event, August 5, the Pope is expected to meet young people from around the world at a welcome ceremony at World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, Seoul. The following day, he will take part in the Stations of the Cross, an event commemorating the Passion of Jesus. On August 8, he will celebrate the closing Mass, known as the Sending Mass, at Seoul Airport. The organizing committee expects about 300,000 people to attend the welcome ceremony and up to 1 million, including members of the general public, to attend the Sending Mass.

The event will open with an inaugural Mass at Seoul World Cup Stadium on August 3. An overnight prayer vigil, during which young people will pray through the night, will be held at Seoul Airport on August 7. Final discussions with the relevant authorities on the use of Seoul Airport are ongoing. The organizing committee said it selected the main event venues to reduce traffic congestion and disruption to residents in the city center and to ensure the safety of large crowds.

This will be the fourth papal visit to South Korea. Pope John Paul II first visited the country in 1984 for events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church in Korea and the canonization of 103 Korean martyrs. He returned in 1989 for the Seoul International Eucharistic Congress. In 2014, Pope Francis visited South Korea to attend the Asian Youth Day, among other events.

World Youth Day, the occasion for the Pope's visit, is an international Catholic youth event launched in 1986 under Pope John Paul II. The 2027 event in Seoul will be the first World Youth Day held in Asia in 32 years, since the 1995 event in Manila, Philippines, and the first to be held in a non-Christian country. Pope Francis announced Seoul as the next host city at the 2023 event in Lisbon, Portugal.

The organizing committee expects 500,000 people to register, including 400,000 young people from abroad and 100,000 participants from South Korea, from about 190 countries. A pre-event to welcome participants from abroad will also be held in 15 dioceses across the country from July 29 to August 2, before the main event.

In a video message released on October 22, coinciding with the opening of participant registration, Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people around the world to take part, saying, "I eagerly look forward to meeting you in Seoul."

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of the Archdiocese of Seoul said that day, "What we hope to accomplish in Seoul in the summer of 2027 is not simply to bring many people together in one place," adding, "What we need in this age of disconnection is the courage to meet and the courage to welcome others."

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