When there is exactly one year left for the World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027, the Church has taken a decisive step in preparing for the meeting with the beginning of the implementation phase of the event. In this new moment, the Local Organizing Committee leaves behind the initial planning to focus on the organization of the reception of the pilgrims, logistics, communication, and pastoral preparation.
In this context, a preparatory meeting in Seoul brings together representatives from the Episcopal Conferences, international organizations, and those responsible for youth ministry from different continents. The objective is to gain firsthand knowledge of the organizational progress, strengthen international coordination, and begin to jointly build the pastoral itinerary that will take thousands of young people to Korea.
For America Latin America and the Caribbean, this meeting also represents an opportunity to contribute the pastoral experience of the continent and start now a preparation process that allows participation in the World Youth Day to go far beyond physical displacement.
Open invitation to all young people
"For Latin America and the Caribbean, it also represents an opportunity to listen, contribute our experience, and prepare now a process that allows participation in the WYD to be not just a trip, but a true itinerary of encounter with Christ and missionary renewal.", stated Yithzak Yerel González Murgas, lay advisor of the Youth Pastoral of the Mexico-Central America Region and member of the Latin American and Caribbean Team of Youth Pastoral.
The World Youth Day is open to all young people in the world as an invitation from the Church to experience an encounter with Jesus Christ, with the Pope, and with young people from different cultures and realities. The call is not limited to participation during the days of the event in Seoul. The process begins much earlier with a itinerary of spiritual and pastoral preparation that seeks to involve young people from now on.
Among the initiatives already announced is the start of a spiritual pilgrimage to Seoul, participation in the global tree planting campaign "Breath of Life", inspired by Laudato Si', the opening of registrations for pilgrims and volunteers, as well as participation in the traditional Days in the Dioceses, during which the young people will be welcomed by Korean communities before the start of the central celebration. For González Murgas, these initiatives show that "the WYD is much more than an event; it is a process of formation, mission, caring for our common home, and communion among peoples".
May the Day bear lasting fruits
When asked about the objectives of this journey, the member of the Latin American and Caribbean Team for Youth Ministry explained that the main purpose remains that young people have an encounter with Christ: "The great objective is that young people can meet Christ and experience that they are part of a universal, living, and missionary Church. The WYD must leave lasting fruits in our youth ministries and not end with the sending ceremony".
The Local Organizing Committee has already presented the main milestones that will mark the path toward the World Youth Day Seoul 2027. During the second semester of 2026, actions will be developed such as the launch of the official hymn, the opening of registrations for pilgrims and volunteers, and the start of the global ecological campaign.
At the same time, each continent and each Episcopal Conference will develop their own pastoral itineraries so that young people arrive at the Day after a true process of formation and not merely as participants in a large ecclesial event.
The role of Latin American and Caribbean Youth Ministry
On this journey, the Latin American and Caribbean Youth Ministry will have the mission to encourage the process in communion with the Episcopal Conferences, the national youth and adolescent ministries, and the dioceses of the continent. Its work will be to accompany young people before, during, and after the World Youth Day through spaces of formation, prayer, mission, and discernment.
It will seek to strengthen the coordination between different countries, share preparation materials, promote continental meetings, and motivate each young person to live this process from their own reality as part of a path of discipleship. "We want the WYD Seoul 2027 to be an opportunity to renew the hope of Latin American and Caribbean adolescents and young people, encouraging them to return to their communities as authentic missionary disciples, committed to evangelization, the care of creation, and the construction of an increasingly synodal Church that is close to youth.", expressed González Murgas.
The lay advisor summarized the spirit with which the Youth Ministry of the continent wants to live this process: "More than preparing a trip to Korea, we want to prepare the hearts of thousands of young Latin Americans and Caribbeans so that, upon encountering Christ and the universal Church, they return to their communities as sowers of hope.".
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