“Take courage! I have overcome the world. ” (John 16:33)
“ (Pope) Leo XIV concluded his Angelus address with a powerful missionary call: “You, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: Let us continue to dream together and to hope together.”
The 2027 World Youth Day will be the first to be held in South Korea and the second in Asia, following the historic gathering of young people in Manila, Philippines, in 1995.”
Pope announces 2027 World Youth Day
World Youth Day (WYD) is a unique and rare opportunity for a young person, youth leader, adult chaperone, seminarian, priest or religious to experience the Universal Church, to encounter Christ in His “Mystical Body”, and to gather with the Pope, our Holy Father. In August of 2027 young people and their companions will have the opportunity to gather with Pope Leo XIV for his “first” WYD as Pope.
When you hear or read “August of 2027” it might sound like that is a “long way off, in the future”. However, for youth and young adults, pastors, youth ministers, parish and schools leaders, parents, and generous donors, “now is the time” to start praying and planning if you would like to attend, to lead a group, and/or to help others to be able to experience, this opportunity for a truly life-changing experience of Faith and the Church.
I hope that many readers are aware that we have already begun our WYD preparations, here in our Diocese of Paterson. I am grateful that John Cammarata, Executive Director of St. Paul’s Center and Diocesan director of youth ministry, and Sister Theresa Lee, FMA, diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious, are working together to lead our diocesan planning and preparation and will assist me in leading what hopefully will be a large diocesan group of pilgrims who will journey to Seoul to participate in WYD 2027.
By the time you are reading this, we will already have had our first two information sessions. I was happy to be able to visit the first info-session at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls Evangelization Center on Saturday, Feb. 28 and was very encouraged to see that we had more than a dozen participants, representing ten parishes. The second info-session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 at Holy Rosary Parish in Passaic. I hope you may be reading this before Tuesday, March 10, when there will be the third and final info-session at St. Kateri Parish in Sparta.
In the coming months, there will be additional gatherings, in-person and Zoom, where registered pilgrims and potential pilgrims can receive more information and formation as we prepare for this spiritual adventure in Seoul. Visit our diocesan website to sign-up for the WYD2027 newsletter or find out more here. You can also contact John Cammarata at jcammrata@patersondiocese.org or Sr Theresa at tlee@patersondiocese.org with any questions you may have.
I have often tried to share my personal experience of World You Day, especially the impact of being able to attend WYD in Denver, Colorado in 1993 with (St.) Pope John Paul II. I had graduated from college the previous year and had just finished my first year in the major seminary. I was “far from sure” whether or not God was calling me to be a priest and, if I was being called, I was not sure how I wanted to respond. The experience of WYD did not “answer all my questions”, but it helped me to feel and believe that I was “part of something” so much bigger and more meaningful than I had ever imagined. I hope that readers can understand or appreciate what a difference it can make for a young person or young adult to have an experience of the Universal Church, to have a whole new appreciation of what we mean (every Sunday) when we say, “I believe … in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church…”
At the information session, I was so excited and encouraged to learn that the theme for WYD 2027 is “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33). How much do all of us, especially young people, need to hear today and in our times, those words that Jesus spoke to the Apostles at the Last Supper, as He was preparing them for the experience of His Passion? I shared with those attending the information session that I still (vividly) recall the theme of WYD 1993 in Denver. It was, “I came so that they may have life” (and have it more abundantly) (Jn. 10:10)
I have already begun to encourage our priests and pastors to consider speaking with parish and youth leaders to see if some young people (and their parents and families) might be open to the possibility that the Lord may be calling them to be WYD Pilgrims, to begin making plans, to begin fund-raising efforts, and to bring all of the above to prayer.
**If there are readers who may not be able to attend WYD themselves but may be able to prayerfully consider “sponsoring” or helping a young person to attend by making a donation, please feel free to contact John Cammarata or Sister Theresa Lee.
On the WYD page of our Diocesan Website, you can find the full text of the “Official WYD 2027 Prayer”. I will quote the last two paragraphs of the prayer (below), as I ask readers to consider how they might prepare for WYD or invite others to attend WYD. I also ask you to pray that God will bless our efforts to invite and assist as many young people as possible from our Diocese to be able to attend World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul.
From the Official WYD 2027 Prayer:
Oh Holy Spirit, Flame of Love,
by your wonderous hand
you have sown the seeds of faith in Korea.
Kindle the flame of the Korean martyrs’ faith in our hearts,
making us into disciples who live out the gospel of peace, love, and truth.
Lord, we pray that through this pilgrim journey of World Youth Day
we may listen to each other, discern your will,
and become a synodal Church, walking together with all of God’s people. Amen.
Our Lady of mercy and peace, pray for us.
Holy patrons of World Youth Day Seoul 2027, pray for all young people.
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Are you Ready (Have You Started to Prepare) for World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul, South Korea #Catholic –
“Take courage! I have overcome the world. ” (John 16:33)
“ (Pope) Leo XIV concluded his Angelus address with a powerful missionary call: “You, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: Let us continue to dream together and to hope together.”
The 2027 World Youth Day will be the first to be held in South Korea and the second in Asia, following the historic gathering of young people in Manila, Philippines, in 1995.”
Pope announces 2027 World Youth Day
World Youth Day (WYD) is a unique and rare opportunity for a young person, youth leader, adult chaperone, seminarian, priest or religious to experience the Universal Church, to encounter Christ in His “Mystical Body”, and to gather with the Pope, our Holy Father. In August of 2027 young people and their companions will have the opportunity to gather with Pope Leo XIV for his “first” WYD as Pope.
When you hear or read “August of 2027” it might sound like that is a “long way off, in the future”. However, for youth and young adults, pastors, youth ministers, parish and schools leaders, parents, and generous donors, “now is the time” to start praying and planning if you would like to attend, to lead a group, and/or to help others to be able to experience, this opportunity for a truly life-changing experience of Faith and the Church.
I hope that many readers are aware that we have already begun our WYD preparations, here in our Diocese of Paterson. I am grateful that John Cammarata, Executive Director of St. Paul’s Center and Diocesan director of youth ministry, and Sister Theresa Lee, FMA, diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious, are working together to lead our diocesan planning and preparation and will assist me in leading what hopefully will be a large diocesan group of pilgrims who will journey to Seoul to participate in WYD 2027.
By the time you are reading this, we will already have had our first two information sessions. I was happy to be able to visit the first info-session at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls Evangelization Center on Saturday, Feb. 28 and was very encouraged to see that we had more than a dozen participants, representing ten parishes. The second info-session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 at Holy Rosary Parish in Passaic. I hope you may be reading this before Tuesday, March 10, when there will be the third and final info-session at St. Kateri Parish in Sparta.
In the coming months, there will be additional gatherings, in-person and Zoom, where registered pilgrims and potential pilgrims can receive more information and formation as we prepare for this spiritual adventure in Seoul. Visit our diocesan website to sign-up for the WYD2027 newsletter or find out more here. You can also contact John Cammarata at jcammrata@patersondiocese.org or Sr Theresa at tlee@patersondiocese.org with any questions you may have.
I have often tried to share my personal experience of World You Day, especially the impact of being able to attend WYD in Denver, Colorado in 1993 with (St.) Pope John Paul II. I had graduated from college the previous year and had just finished my first year in the major seminary. I was “far from sure” whether or not God was calling me to be a priest and, if I was being called, I was not sure how I wanted to respond. The experience of WYD did not “answer all my questions”, but it helped me to feel and believe that I was “part of something” so much bigger and more meaningful than I had ever imagined. I hope that readers can understand or appreciate what a difference it can make for a young person or young adult to have an experience of the Universal Church, to have a whole new appreciation of what we mean (every Sunday) when we say, “I believe … in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church…”
At the information session, I was so excited and encouraged to learn that the theme for WYD 2027 is “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33). How much do all of us, especially young people, need to hear today and in our times, those words that Jesus spoke to the Apostles at the Last Supper, as He was preparing them for the experience of His Passion? I shared with those attending the information session that I still (vividly) recall the theme of WYD 1993 in Denver. It was, “I came so that they may have life” (and have it more abundantly) (Jn. 10:10)
I have already begun to encourage our priests and pastors to consider speaking with parish and youth leaders to see if some young people (and their parents and families) might be open to the possibility that the Lord may be calling them to be WYD Pilgrims, to begin making plans, to begin fund-raising efforts, and to bring all of the above to prayer.
**If there are readers who may not be able to attend WYD themselves but may be able to prayerfully consider “sponsoring” or helping a young person to attend by making a donation, please feel free to contact John Cammarata or Sister Theresa Lee.
On the WYD page of our Diocesan Website, you can find the full text of the “Official WYD 2027 Prayer”. I will quote the last two paragraphs of the prayer (below), as I ask readers to consider how they might prepare for WYD or invite others to attend WYD. I also ask you to pray that God will bless our efforts to invite and assist as many young people as possible from our Diocese to be able to attend World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul.
From the Official WYD 2027 Prayer:
Oh Holy Spirit, Flame of Love,
by your wonderous hand
you have sown the seeds of faith in Korea.
Kindle the flame of the Korean martyrs’ faith in our hearts,
making us into disciples who live out the gospel of peace, love, and truth.
Lord, we pray that through this pilgrim journey of World Youth Day
we may listen to each other, discern your will,
and become a synodal Church, walking together with all of God’s people. Amen.
Our Lady of mercy and peace, pray for us.
Holy patrons of World Youth Day Seoul 2027, pray for all young people.