Pope John Paul II
At each World Youth Day (WYD), patron saints are chosen as models of faith for young people. Based on the event’s spiritual themes of truth, love and peace, they are expected to offer spiritual guidance through the witness of their lives and spirituality.
For WYD Seoul 2027, the selection process of patron saints began in late 2024. The selection team included a nationwide survey of young people, youth ministers and pastoral workers, followed by a review of candidates and deliberation by the Local Organizing Committee.
Following the selection, a group of young volunteers dedicated two months to researching the lives and spirituality of the five patron saints. Through prayer, discussion and shared reflection, the team prepared a dedicated prayer and a representative symbol for each saint, seeking to express the distinctive witness that each saint offers to young people today.
For WYD Seoul 2027, the five patron saints are Saint John Paul II (1920-2005), Saint Andrew Kim Taegon (1821-1846) and his companions, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), Saint Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) and Saint Carlo Acutis (1991-2006).
Spanning continents and generations, each saint inspires young people and offers a path to live faith in daily life. Through the lives of saints, young people are invited to see that holiness is not a distant ideal but a way to fix their gaze on Christ and to respond generously to His call.
Saint John Paul II, whose feast day is Oct. 22, is the founder and the father of WYD. He established the event in 1985, after seeing more than 300,000 young people gather at the Vatican for the International Jubilee of Youth.
His love for young people, his resilience in suffering and his emphasis on family and the dignity of human life touched many people.
At the 2002 WYD in Toronto, he said that he wanted to realize “a powerful moment in which the young people of the world could meet Christ, who is eternally young, and could learn from him how to be bearers of the Gospel to other young people.”
John Paul II was born in Poland in 1920. In his early years, he endured the sorrow of losing his family, World War II and the oppression of Nazi occupation. Amid these trials, he nurtured his priestly vocation in an underground seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1946.
He served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of Krakow, and took part in the Second Vatican Council, contributing to the Church’s path of renewal and dialogue. Elected the 264th Pope in 1978, he proclaimed the Gospel through pastoral visits to 129 countries and, in 1985, founded World Youth Day, inviting young people to become one in faith.
After surviving an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square in 1981, he testified that he had been protected by the maternal hand of Our Lady and went on to forgive his attacker, leaving a profound witness to mercy and reconciliation. He passed away in 2005 and was canonized in 2014.
“Merciful Lord, hear the intercession of Saint John Paul II, who found hope in young people and called them together in the Church. Grant that we too may proclaim the joy of the Gospel to the whole world and help build a world where the culture of life may flourish. Amen.”
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (Figlie di San Paolo), living and giving the good news to the world by means of social communication. Learn more about the congregation at fsp.pauline.or.kr.