Official WYD Seoul 2027 prayer, born from synodal retreat of 77 youth & clergy, invokes Korean martyrs and Christ’s victory. Released on Christ the King.
Newsroom (24/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) On the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 released the official prayer that will spiritually accompany millions of young Catholics toward the August 3–8, 2027, gathering in the South Korean capital.
Opening with the invocation “O Holy Spirit, Flame of Love,” the prayer pays homage to the Korean Church’s martyr-founders and calls young people to become “disciples who live the Gospel of peace, love, and truth.” Its central theme, drawn from John 16:33 – “Take courage: I have conquered the world!” – urges trust in Christ’s definitive victory amid contemporary challenges.
What distinguishes this text is the deeply synodal method of its composition. Rather than delegate the task to theologians, the Korean bishops invited the entire People of God into a shared discernment process. Over two months, volunteers, priests, young Koreans, international residents, and LOC staff prepared a two-day retreat attended by 77 participants representing dioceses, religious communities, and expatriate youth.
Through conferences, Eucharistic adoration, personal meditation, small-group writing sessions, and plenary synthesis, the assembly drafted the initial text. Subsequent online consultations, episcopal review, approval by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, and final validation by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life refined the prayer while preserving the authentic voice of youth, as Rome explicitly requested.
The prayer unfolds in five movements: thanksgiving for God’s universal call; entrustment to the Father who gathers young people in communion; proclamation of Christ’s triumph and the courage born of the Cross; invocation of the Holy Spirit as “Flame of Love” that recalls Korea’s martyrs and their legacy of peace, love, and truth; and commitment to the synodal journey of a listening, discerning Church.
Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the LOC, underlined the historical convergence: “WYD Seoul 2027 will take place at a time when the Church is called to rediscover authentic synodality. Korea, with its history rooted in the search for truth, love, and peace, offers young people a meaningful place to rekindle courage and pursue these values in solidarity.”
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, welcomed the release on Christ the King – the day local Churches worldwide already celebrate diocesan World Youth Days – and invited youth everywhere “to raise together the cry of peace, fraternity, and hope that the world so desperately needs.”
Father Francis Hee-cheon Lee, director of the LOC Volunteer Directorate, expressed hope that frequent recitation of the prayer will open hearts “to the grace God wishes to pour out on the Church in Korea, on our society, on the universal Church, and on the entire world.”
The Archdiocese of Seoul has called on parishes, youth groups, and communities globally to incorporate the prayer into gatherings, Masses, and pastoral activities during the two-year preparation period, transforming it into a common spiritual bridge toward the first World Youth Day ever held in Northeast Asia – and only the second in Asia after Manila 1995.
The full text of the prayer is now available in multiple languages on the official WYD Seoul 2027 website, marking the first major milestone on the road to what organizers hope will be a celebration of courage, martyrdom, and synodal renewal.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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