SPOTLIGHT 26/08/03 Seoul unveils theme song for World Youth Day 2027

[성기화 요셉]

Multilingual anthem reflects the event's Gospel theme and Korean identity

The official theme song of the World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027 was unveiled Aug. 3 during a 25-minute livestream on the official YouTube channel. (Photo: Facebook)

By UCA News reporter

Published: August 04, 2026 09:34 AM GMT

Updated: August 04, 2026 09:51 AM GMT

The local organizing committee for World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027 has released the event's official theme song, marking one year before the global Catholic youth gathering opens in the South Korean capital.

The song, Confidite, Ego Vici Mundum (Take Courage, I Have Conquered the World), composed by Francis Jiyoon Kim, was unveiled Aug. 3 during a 25-minute livestream on the official WYD Seoul 2027 YouTube channel.

The launch featured two music videos: a classical version highlighting choir and orchestra, and a pop version arranged to be easier for young people to sing.

The bilingual broadcast, hosted by Sera Lee and Father Isaac Severo, included an interview with Kim and attracted viewers from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America, organizers said in a statement released Aug. 4.

According to the organizing committee, the broadcast received more than 19,000 views during its first 13 hours, while the channel's subscriber count doubled.

The theme song was selected from 434 entries submitted to a global competition, including 140 from South Korea and 294 from other countries. It was reviewed by the Seoul organizing committee before being approved by the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Kim described the composition as an offering to the Church and a way of giving back, through his musical gifts, the love he had received from it.

Organizers said the composition was developed directly from the Gospel text rather than by fitting sacred lyrics to an existing musical style. They said the approach seeks to develop a distinctive contemporary Catholic musical language while reflecting Korean culture and Seoul's identity in an international setting.

The song opens with the image of light rising in the eastern sky. Its opening Korean lyrics are translated into English as: "Rising from Eastern skies, the light we follow, you and I," expressing a journey from awakening to mission.

Another English translation reads: "You and I, having followed the light rising in the east, awaken our slumbering hearts and begin to walk."

Organizers said the song draws on two Gospel themes: Christ's call for believers to be the light of the world and his promise of victory over fear and darkness. The theme of WYD Seoul 2027 — "Take courage! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33) — is first sung in Korean and then repeated in Latin: Confidite, ego vici mundum. The international version also includes English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The committee said the launch marks a shift from planning to full implementation. Pilgrim registration is expected to open in October as organizers finalize accommodation, transportation, safety and medical services, along with volunteer training.

WYD Seoul 2027 will be held Aug. 3-8, 2027, following diocesan gatherings from July 29 to Aug. 2 in 15 dioceses across South Korea.

It will be the second World Youth Day held in Asia, after Manila in 1995, and the first in a country where Christianity is not the majority religion.

Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung said the remaining year would be devoted to completing preparations.

"If the past time was a process of laying the foundation for the event, the remaining year is a time to complete preparations to welcome young people from all over the world," he said, according to Catholic Times of Korea.

"I will do my best to ensure that World Youth Day becomes a festival that conveys hope to young people and demonstrates the warm hospitality and solidarity of the Republic of Korea and Seoul."