With roughly one year to go before World Youth Day (WYD) in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027, organizers have announced the launch dates for its official theme song.
In a July 30 press release, the local organizing committee announced the start of the event’s implementation phase, continuing preparations for services to welcome pilgrims.
Pope Leo XIV will also attend the global event, to be held Aug. 3–8, 2027. His attendance will continue the trend of a regular papal presence at WYD since St. John Paul II established it in 1985.
WYD 2027 will be the first WYD to be celebrated in a non-Christian country and only the second in Asia.
Theme song and tree-planting campaign to launch Aug. 3
On Aug. 3, the WYD 2027 countdown will begin, and its official theme song will premiere on its official YouTube channel. The song, “Confidite, Ego Vici Mundum” (“Take Courage! I Have Overcome the World,” in Latin), was the winning composition from 434 submissions and was written by Korean composer Francis Jiyoon Kim.
That same day, the Breath of Life Global Tree-Planting Campaign will launch, inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. The campaign will encourage young people to practice ecological stewardship in line with the vision laid out in that encyclical.
The registration window for WYD 2027 will open in the latter half of 2026, offering pilgrims accommodation, meals, transportation, and insurance services. Volunteers will also be able to register at that time.
WYD 2027: A celebration of Korean hospitality
In the press release, Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the local organizing committee, expressed hope that the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims expected in Seoul will experience the hospitality of the South Korean people.
“We will do everything possible to make WYD Seoul 2027 a celebration of hope and a witness to the hospitality and solidarity of Korea and Seoul,” Chung said in the release.
“Over the past three years, we have concentrated on laying the foundations for the event. The year ahead will be the time to complete our preparations and welcome young people from every part of the world.”