From Lisbon to Seoul: Conference examines WYD’s role in building peace

By Sr. Ruth Santana and Gabi Bonvechio

The Embassies of Portugal and the Republic of Korea to the Holy See held a conference on Friday morning, October 30, at Villa Lusa in Rome, examining the experience of World Youth Day in Lisbon and preparations for Seoul 2027.

Entitled “From Lisbon to Seoul: A Path Toward a Courageous, Respectful, and Peaceful Future,” the conference was part of the 17th Diplomacy Festival, which focuses on geopolitics, the global economy, and international relations. This year’s theme is “What Comes Next? Racing on the Edge.”

Welcoming participants, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, Hyung-sik Shin, outlined his hopes for World Youth Day Seoul 2027:

“Seoul will become a great setting for encounters, overcoming divisions between Korea and the world, between different religions and cultures, and between generations and regions. Hope will radiate from Seoul to the world, and from the world back to Seoul. Come to Seoul, hand in hand with your young people. Here, the young people of the world will meet, engage in sincere dialogue, pray side by side, and become true companions in peace.”

The conference was moderated by Maria Gomiero, a journalist with the Italian newspaper Avvenire, and hosted by Portugal’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Maria Amélia Paiva.

Other participants included Daniele Bruno, President of the John Paul II Youth Foundation; Father Riccardo Pincerato of the Italian Episcopal Conference’s youth ministry; young participants Gian Marco Esposito and Alessandro Galbiati; and Dr. Badriyyakhanim Soltanli, representing the Diplomacy Festival.

Preparations for Seoul 2027

Ambassador Shin said Seoul 2027 would be the first World Youth Day held in a country without a Catholic majority and whose language is not of European origin. He described it as “a genuine synodal journey that welcomes young people as the ‘now’ of the Church and as active companions walking together.”

He said the event would offer the universal Church “a living witness of faith, showing in practice how the Gospel has been inculturated, with grace and beauty, within Asia’s rich cultural heritage.”

In his address, entitled “A Pilgrimage of Hope, Courage Blossoming in Seoul,” he recalled the origins of the Church in Korea before the arrival of foreign missionaries and its history of more than 10,000 martyrs.

Referring to the history of persecution and suffering under the military dictatorship, he said World Youth Day, with peace at its heart, must “allow this wave of peace to spread beyond the gathering, reaching Asia and the rest of the world.”

Seoul, he added, will serve as a global forum for discerning the “signs of the times,” addressing young people’s anxieties, the climate crisis, consumer capitalism, and ethics in the age of artificial intelligence.

“Seoul is preparing with the utmost dedication to welcome the world’s young people,” he said.

He outlined preparations involving diplomatic missions, streamlined visa procedures, accommodations throughout the city, transportation passes, meals, security, medical support, round-the-clock multilingual assistance, and environmental initiatives. These efforts, he said, aim to “provide a safe and welcoming environment that pilgrims and their families can trust.”

A pilgrimage and an experience of belonging

Father Riccardo Pincerato, who heads youth ministry for the Italian Episcopal Conference, recalled the crowds in Lisbon and their spirit of joy and fraternity.

He said that, despite differences in continents, languages, and formats, World Youth Day continues to offer young people an experience of belonging: “They discover that they are not so few, that they are not strange, that they belong to something greater than their parish and their country.” The relationships formed, he noted, last beyond the gathering.

For young Italians, going to Seoul will mean “first receiving, and only then giving,” Father Pincerato said.

“World Youth Day is not an event to be consumed. It takes the form of a rite of passage, like every pilgrimage,” he added.

He explained that the experience invites young people to consider essential questions: Who am I? For whom is it worth giving my life? What do I want to build?

Supporting young people’s participation

Concluding the panel, Daniele Bruno, President of the John Paul II Youth Foundation, addressed the Diplomacy Festival’s focus on the future.

“The voice of young people is indispensable: not because they already have all the answers, but because they are capable of confronting fear with hope, resignation with the desire to participate, and distance with a willingness to encounter others.”

Bruno stressed the need to listen to young people who “refuse to allow the future to be shaped solely by the fears of the present,” and recalled Pope Francis’ invitation to build a Church where there is room for everyone.

He also reaffirmed the Foundation’s mission to “enable young people to participate in World Youth Day, including those who would be unable to do so without support, so that each person knows they are expected, welcomed, and called by name.”

On August 2, 2027, the eve of World Youth Day, the Foundation will hold the fifth World Youth Day Conference at the Catholic University of Korea.

Its theme, “Young People and Fraternity: The Challenge of Courageous Co-responsibility,” will encompass peace, care for creation, the promotion of life, social friendship, the economy, mental health, and scientific research.

Young people, peace, and diplomacy

Badriyyakhanim Soltanli, representing the Diplomacy Festival, and Portugal’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Maria Amélia Paiva, addressed diplomacy’s role in building peace.

Soltanli, who recently graduated in international peace mediation, said peace goes beyond silence and involves dignity, opportunity, justice, and hope.

Courage, she explained, means choosing dialogue when violence would be easier, while respect requires recognizing the dignity of others, even amid disagreement.

“Mediation is not about having all the answers, but about creating space for people to be heard,” she said.

In the face of conflicts, migration, climate change, and disinformation, she called for a practical, inclusive, and courageous diplomacy that reaches beyond borders and enables young people to lead. She also highlighted women’s role in building lasting peace.

Ambassador Paiva, who followed World Youth Day in Lisbon, encouraged young people to become “artisans of peace and diplomats of hope” and to take an active role.

She referred to the “diplomacy of everyday life,” through which the Church challenges young people to learn “the delicate art of diplomacy and the craft of reconciliation,” grounded in the inviolable rights of the person, freedom, and the rule of law.

She said this diplomacy takes concrete form “when they promote forgiveness in their communities, when they use their social media to disarm hate speech, and when they reach out to those who are different.”

She concluded with an appeal: “Do not bury your talents. Be true peacemakers. Ambassadors of harmony.”