From 3rd-8th August 2027, Seoul, Korea, will host the World Youth Day (WYD) with the theme “Take courage: I have conquered the world!”(Jn. 16:33). This is only the second WYD to be held in Asia following Manila (Philippines) in 1995 and it will be the first to take place in a country with a non-Christian majority.
On 3rd August, one year before the start of the great event, the official anthem entitled Confidite, ego vici mundum was unveiled. Two versions have been proposed: the first, a more formal orchestral and choral arrangement the second, a contemporary pop version. The song communicates a clear message: even when faced with disappointments or fears, the Lord is always close to young people.
In addition, a Global Tree Planting Campaign, called Breath of life, has been launched, inviting young people to plant shrubs in their own countries. The initiative follows what was happened in Lisbon (Portugal) during the previous WYD in 2023 and is inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si ‘”.
Young people from the Focolare will also participate in the WYD. An international school for young people aged 16 to 20 was recently held in Trento (Italy) where the invitation of the Korean participants to the WYD in Seoul was enthusiastically welcomed. The coming year now marks the beginning of a journey of preparation in many countries, as Focolare youth prepare to live WYD with courage and hope, working for a world of peace and unity.
Foto: Pixabay
Farrell: Preparing together for WYD
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, told the Vatican media, “In its forty-year history, World Youth Day has grown ever richer thanks to the faith, enthusiasm and active participation of young people and local Churches”. To the Bishops and those responsible for youth ministry around the world, Cardinal Farrell renewed his invitation to accompany the young people on their journey towards Seoul 2027, “making the most of these resources in their preparation, helping them experience the pilgrimage as an authentic encounter of faith, ecclesial communion and a personal meeting with Jesus”.
Five patron saints
As is tradition for every WYD, five patron saints whose lives and spirituality offer inspiring examples of Christian witness, have been chosen as models of faith for young people. For 2027, the local organizing committee has chosen five: John Paul II, the founder of World Youth Days; Andrea Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest and a symbol of faith and courage; Francesca Saverio Cabrini, patron saint of migrants, born in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano (Italy) and who died in 1917 in Chicago, the birthplace of Robert Francis Prevost; Josephine Bakhita, the Sudanese woman who was freed from slavery, became a nun and bore witness to a faith transformed through suffering; Carlo Acutis, the fifteen-year-old Italian canonized on 7th September, 2025, a modern example of evangelization in the digital world.
The Cross, the Marian icon and the volunteers
The two symbols of WYD, the Cross and the Marian icon, arrived in South Korea in December 2025 and the following month began a national pilgrimage, through the dioceses of the country. “We will do everything possible – underlined the Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul and President of the Organizing Committee, Monsignor Peter Soon-taick Chung – so that WYD 2027 is a celebration of hope and a witness to hospitality and solidarity”.
Meanwhile, in Seoul, many volunteers are already at work. About 400 young people are supporting the local organizing committee. They have been prepared using the texts of Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Christus Vivit” and through the method of Conversation in the Spirit. They currently are helping with the organisation of events, logistics, training of other volunteers, and communication.
It was a morning that marked a significant moment in the history of the Church. On 25th May 2026 in the Synod Hall in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV presented his first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, on safeguarding the human person in the time of Artificial Intelligence. It was the first time that a Pope was present in the Hall where his magisterial document was being presented to the public.
The encyclical was signed on 15th May, the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of the encyclical letter Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, who recognized in the industrial transformations of his time a profoundly human and social issue. This encyclical defends the human person in today’s time of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and calls for new urgent reflections on the role and future of technological progress.
After the interventions of experts and theologians, the Pontiff spoke. He focused on the “gravity of the moment” we are living through, which is a cause for concern in the Church which is called to “interpret new things in the light of the Gospel and the dignity of the person”. He explained that the document was born “from listening” to scientists and engineers who “work with sincere enthusiasm on technologies capable of alleviating immense suffering; listening to political leaders and public officials who have persistently sought just regulations; listening to parents and teachers deeply concerned about the future of the young generations”. He used strong words: “Artificial Intelligence must be disarmed. The expression is strong, I know”, Leo admitted, “but it was chosen deliberately because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences and indicating ways forward for humanity”.
The Pontiff recalled that for some time “the Church has worked in favour of nuclear disarmament, as a service to peace and to the dignity of the human family”. Likewise, “Artificial Intelligence today also needs to be disarmed, because like nuclear energy, it must be at the service of all and of the common good. (…) Decisions about technology must never be separated from conscience and responsibility”. “But when technology weakens our critical sense, it is peace itself that is at risk. Disarming, however, is not enough. We must build.” Together.
The encyclical
“Magnifica Humanitas is the culmination of 10 year’s work of the Holy See,” said Msgr. Paul Desmond Tighe, secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education during the press briefing. In 2016 a French priest began to study some topics related to communication and technology. “In San Francisco (USA) he met some experts who wanted to inform the Holy See about technological developments that could influence the future of the world, Tighe continued, “For these scientists it was important to have the perspective of wise voices, so they sought collaboration with the Holy See”, leading to a synergy based on mutual listening
Christopher Olah, Co-founder of Anthropic (USA), one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, also spoke at the Vatican presentation: “We need an every larger part of the world, religious communities, civil society, scholars and governments, to do what His Holiness has done here: to take all this seriously, to carefully observe events as they unfold and help guide them in a better direction. Today is only the beginning of a long collaboration between those of us who are building this technology and those who can see what we ourselves cannot see from the inside”.
Divided into five chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion, Magnifica Humanitas starts from a central thesis: technology is not an “antagonistic force with respect to humanity”, nor is it “in itself an evil”. The Pontiff affirms that “injustices do not arise only from the wrong choices made by individuals, but also from structures, mechanisms and from economic and cultural structures that produce inequality”. This also applies to new technologies.
Leo’s concern focuses on the power that when concentrated in a few hands, “tends to become opaque and to escape public control”, bringing with it the risk of distorted development “which generates new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities”. Here attention is directed toward those who control platforms, infrastructures and digital data.
Pope Leo XIV reiterated once again that there is no such thing as a “just war”. He called for the use of Artificial Intelligence in warfare to be subjected to the strictest ethical constraints because “there is no algorithm that can make war morally acceptable”.
We need “a politics that does not abdicate its responsibility”. The truth must be expresses through an “ecology of communication” opposed to fake news. The Pope indicated some elements: transparency in the content-selection algorithms, protection of personal data, serious journalism based on argument and verification, a new awareness in the “correct and critical” use of AI and the integration of knowledge.
In concluding the letter, the Pontiff invited the faithful to inhabit new technologies in the light of the Gospel, following “a sober and demanding path of Christian life”, so that even in the time of AI everyone can give witness to “the beauty of a magnificent humanity inhabited by God”.
The first Pontiff in modern history to have direct knowledge of Africa, Pope Leo XIV, since his time as head of the Augustinian Order, had personally visited all regions of the continent: central, southern, western and sub-Saharan Africa.
On board the papal flight from Rome to Algiers, Pope Leo told journalists: “As early as last May, I said that for my first trip I would like to visit Africa. Many immediately suggested Algeria to me because of Saint Augustine.”
Eleven days, eighteen flights, over 18,000 kilometres: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The journey included 25 speeches and homilies, eight public Masses, meetings with presidents, bishops and imams. In his interventions, the Pope highlighted the Church’s works of mercy through his encounters with prisoners, orphans and the elderly and by meeting hundreds of thousands of faithful. His remarkable gift for languages was evident: “he spoke to us in French, Portuguese, Spanish and English to establish personal contact with the different local populations.”
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
In an historic address to the authorities in Cameroon on 15th April, the day of his arrival, Pope Leo spoke directly about the humanitarian, political and social crisis that has afflicted the country for a decade. He described the human cost in stark terms: lives lost, families displaced, children deprived of education, and a generation of young people left without hope, while praising the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity as a “treasure” rather than a burden.
A key moment of the visit took place in Bamenda, at the heart of a region torn apart by separatist violence for ten years. The Pope presided over a meeting for peace at St Joseph’s Cathedral. Around the table sat a traditional leader, a Presbyterian Moderator, an Imam and a Catholic nun. “An evocative image that will nourish our imagination for a long time,” said Elisabeth, a resident of Bamenda: “a Pope surrounded by representatives of different faiths and communities in a city at the heart of an ongoing conflict, who calls for dialogue instead of violence, reconciliation instead of revenge.”
The Pope addressed the entire community, including people who had travelled many kilometres from the North-West and South-West regions, overcoming fear and obstacles to be present. He thanked all those who choose each day to build bridges and heal wounds. But he also issued a warning “to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain.” He denounced those, he said, “who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilization and death.”
“Dear Young People, You Are the Beloved Children of the African Land!”
The Pope’s second day in Cameroon was entirely dedicated to young people. Leo XIV chose to directly address this vibrant and dynamic youth in his homily that, first before 120,000 faithful at the Japoma Stadium in Douala and then before students at the Catholic University of Central Africa. He repeatedly urged young people to resist the temptations of emigration, corruption and the illusions of the digital world. Underlying his message—repeated twice that day—was a clear conviction: the future of the continent will be built here, not elsewhere.
At the Japoma Stadium, the Pope did not shy away from the country’s reality, speaking openly about both material and spiritual poverty. He invited the young people “to make your noble spirit the prophetic voice of a new world,” drawing inspiration from the Acts of the Apostles: “the first Christians gave courageous witness to the Lord Jesus in the face of difficulties and threats”. Recalling their perseverance even amid suffering, he urged them to “Reject every form of abuse or violence, which deceives by promising easy gains but hardens the heart.” He reminded them of their true wealth: “faith, family, hospitality and work.” To illustrate his message, Pope Leo XIV referred to Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui, a Congolese martyr killed in 2007 for refusing, in his role as a customs officer, to allow a shipment of counterfeit medicines to pass through. He is presented as a model of resistance to corruption and an example for African youth. The Pope concluded with a powerful invitation: “Become Good News for your country.”
Form “Minds Capable of Discernment”
In the afternoon in Yaoundé, the Pope was welcomed at the Catholic University of Central Africa, a leading institution in the region that attracts over 5,000 students each year, particularly from Gabon, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. Around 8,000 people gathered to greet him with the enthusiasm typical of the academic world.
Addressing this audience of young Africans, Pope Leo XIV spoke about pressing and sensitive issues: corruption, artificial intelligence and its risks, migration and more.
He placed at the centre of his reflection the tension between the temptation to emigrate and responsibility towards one’s own country. “In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate, which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found, I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country”, he told the students. He reminded them that the university was founded thirty-five years ago precisely to form “witnesses of wisdom and justice, of which the African continent needs.”
Speaking about artificial intelligence, the Pope warned with unusual gravity: “When simulation becomes the norm …. We thus come to live within bubbles, impermeable to one another. Feeling threatened by anyone who is different.” His conclusion was direct: “In this way, polarization, conflict, fear and violence spread. What is at stake is not merely the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth”
The Pope also highlighted the environmental and human cost borne by Africa in the extraction of cobalt, an essential mineral for the batteries which power data centres and internet-connected devices. He spoke plainly: “the darker side of the environmental and social devastation caused by the relentless pursuit of raw materials and rare earths” must be denounced.
Liliane Mugombozi (Cameroon)
Photo: Courtesy of the Apostolic Nunciature in Cameroon
Algeria is the largest African country by land area, and of its 48 million inhabitants, Christians make up less than 1%. It is the country Pope Leo XIV chose as the first stop of his African journey, which will then take him to Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. He arrived on April 13, 2026, and his initial meetings with the Algerian community highlighted the life and work of interreligious organizations and initiatives that have been active in the country for many years, often little known.
One of these is the Focolare Movement, a network dedicated to spiritual unity that arrived in predominantly Muslim Algeria in 1966. Its activities in the country are animated by Muslim members—mostly women—who take part by working in small groups throughout Algeria. They offer assistance in local centers for the elderly, provide tutoring for students, or study together with them.
The experience of a “true” faith—one that “does not isolate but opens, unites without confusing, draws close without imposing uniformity, and fosters genuine fraternity”—was shared in French by Monia Zergane, a Muslim woman whose life has become “a sign of hope for our world.” In the services of the Catholic Church in Algeria, Christians and Muslims work “side by side,” she explained, sharing the same concerns: “to welcome, serve, listen, care for the most vulnerable, organize, secure financial resources, and ensure that activity centers are safe places that uphold human dignity.” It is a service to the most “vulnerable”—women, children, the elderly, the sick—lived “together” and capable of creating a “real fraternity,” she said, grounded in the conviction that “to serve humanity is first and foremost to serve God.” This commitment, she emphasized, is nourished by all the “beautiful” qualities brought into play: skills, dedication, patience, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness.
She also spoke of brothers and sisters who were an “immense help and comfort” to her during illness, recalling with gratitude how she “could rely on their closeness, their unwavering solidarity, their gentleness, and their prayers.” In particular, the presence of a Focolare community and the daily effort to put love of neighbor into practice, she acknowledged, “often challenges me and helps me understand that life is not primarily made up of great, visible works, but of a communion lived day by day.” Aware that fraternity is also built through “simple gestures—a smile, a greeting that comes from the heart, a kind word, a service offered without expecting anything in return—and through the small things of everyday life: exchanging good wishes for a feast, sharing a meal after a time of fasting, listening to the spiritual meaning of a celebration.”
