The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 has released the gathering’s official prayer, marking what organizers describe as the spiritual starting point for the global Church’s three-year journey toward the event.
SOUTH KOREA — The text was published on the Feast of Christ the King, a day when local Churches around the world traditionally celebrate World Youth Day.
The LOC said the timing serves as an invitation for young people and faith communities to begin preparing for the 2027 meeting in Korea.
The prayer draws from the theme “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). It calls young people to trust in Christ’s enduring victory and to live the Gospel in a spirit of hope, unity, and mercy.
According to the LOC, the text highlights five movements: thanksgiving for God’s universal invitation, entrustment to the Father, proclamation of Christ’s triumph of love and forgiveness, invocation of the Holy Spirit as Korea’s “Flame of Love,” and a commitment to the synodal journey.
The prayer also seeks the intercession of Our Lady, patroness of Korea, and the patron saints of WYD Seoul 2027.
Organizers said the prayer was the fruit of a broad participatory process initiated by the LOC bishops.
Instead of drafting the text through experts alone, they opened a synodal process that brought together young people, clergy, religious, and lay collaborators.
A two-day retreat, prepared across several months, served as the main venue for consultation and discernment.
Seventy-seven participants — including Korean and international youth, priests, religious, and LOC staff — took part in thematic reflections, prayer, group sharing, and structured writing sessions.
Digital and on-site voting tools helped the group agree on the first unified draft.
After the retreat, the LOC drafting team refined the text and collected further feedback through online consultations.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea reviewed and approved the revised draft during its Autumn General Assembly before submitting it to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
The Dicastery encouraged the LOC to ensure that the voice of young people remained central and later confirmed the final version.
Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung, Chair of the LOC, said WYD Seoul 2027 comes “at a moment when the Church is being called to rediscover authentic synodality — to walk together, to listen, and to discern.”
“Korea, with its history rooted in the search for truth, love, and peace, offers a meaningful place for young people to reflect on the courage we must rekindle within ourselves to pursue these values in solidarity,” he said.
Fr. Francis Hee-cheon Lee, Director of the LOC Volunteers Directorate, emphasized that the prayer is meant to guide the entire preparation period.
“This is a prayer for young people and for everyone who accompanies them — not only for the days of the World Youth Day gathering, but throughout the entire period of preparation,” he said.
“My hope is that, by praying it often, we may open our hearts to the grace God desires to pour upon the Church in Korea, upon our society, the universal Church, and the whole world,” he added.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, welcomed the publication of the prayer on the Solemnity of Christ the King.
“I thank COL Seoul 2027 for the gift of prayer to young people around the world and for choosing to make public the official prayer of WYD Seoul 2027 on the Solemnity of Christ the King,” he said.
He noted that the prayer’s release on the Solemnity of Christ the King aligns with the day when local Churches worldwide observe WYD.
He encouraged young people to unite in their communities and with their bishops in a shared appeal for peace, fraternity, and hope.
Dr. Gleison De Paula Souza, Secretary of the Dicastery, added: “May young people experience the power that comes from prayer, and offer their friends, families, and educators a witness of life in the Gospel.”
The LOC hopes the prayer will be used widely in youth meetings, parish activities, diocesan events, and moments of accompaniment in the years leading to 2027.
By praying together “with one voice,” the LOC said, communities around the world can open themselves to God’s grace and take part spiritually in the pilgrimage toward WYD Seoul.
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