Organizers of World Youth Day Seoul 2027 released the gathering’s multilingual official theme song on Aug. 3, marking one year before the international Catholic youth event begins.
The song was selected from 434 entries submitted through an international competition, including 294 from outside Korea, according to the WYD Seoul 2027 Local Organizing Committee.
Classic and pop versions of the song premiered during a bilingual livestream on the official WYD Seoul 2027 YouTube channel.
Francis Jiyoon Kim composed the winning entry, which features the six official languages of WYD Seoul 2027: Korean, English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
The gathering’s theme, “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33), is sung first in Korean and repeated in Latin: “Confidite, ego vici mundum.”
The organizing committee said the shared refrain would allow pilgrims from different countries to sing the central message together, regardless of language.
The song opens in Korean with lyrics rendered in English as, “Rising from Eastern skies, the light we follow, you and I.”
English is used in the first pre-chorus, Italian in the second verse and Spanish in the second pre-chorus.
The closing prayer, “Thy will be done,” is sung in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean: “Si compia in me. Ainsi soit-il. Que así sea. Assim seja. 이뤄지소서.”
According to the organizing committee, the song was composed from the Gospel text rather than by fitting sacred words into a musical form borrowed from another genre.
The approach sought to develop a distinct creative language for contemporary Catholic music while reflecting Korean culture in an international setting, the committee said.
Kim described the composition as an offering to the Church and a way of giving back, through his professional gifts, the love he had received from it.
Sera Lee and Father Isaac Severo hosted the approximately 25-minute program in Korean and English. Kim joined them for an interview between the two music video premieres.
Vatican News also carried the broadcast, which was shared through the social media channels of Catholic communities worldwide.
Viewers joined from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. The broadcast received more than 19,000 views within its first 13 hours, while the channel’s subscriber count doubled, according to the committee.
An Official Theme Song Recognition Ceremony will be held Aug. 6 at the Archdiocesan Office.
Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the local organizing committee, will attend the ceremony, which will recognize the winning composition and those who helped complete the song.
International pilgrim registration will open later in 2026.
World Youth Day is an international Catholic gathering of young people convened by the pope. WYD Seoul 2027 will take place Aug. 3-8, 2027.
