Christian World | In his 2026 World Youth Day message, Pope Leo XIV urges young people to bring their own wounds and those dividing their societies to Christ, ahead of Seoul 2027

ACW | November 3, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV urged young people to bring their own wounds and those tearing their societies apart to Christ, in a World Youth Day message the Vatican released on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

The message takes as its theme "Take courage! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). This year's World Youth Day will be celebrated in dioceses worldwide on November 22, the Solemnity of Christ the King, Vatican News reported.

"Bring to Christ your questions and your wounds, but also the wounds that tear apart your societies and set your countries against one another," the Pope wrote. "Do not wait until you are perfect before opening yourselves to Him," he added.

"Christ does not call you to flee from this world, but to see it through His eyes and touch it with His love," Leo wrote. The message was signed at the Vatican on October 22, the memorial of St. John Paul II.

Background: The next international World Youth Day gathering will be held in Seoul, South Korea, on August 3–8, 2027, Vatican News said, and the Pope wrote that he looks forward to meeting young people there. ACW earlier reported on a Catholic youth festival in the Holy Land.

Why it matters: "Many long for peace but encounter violence," the Pope wrote, calling young people to bring the divisions between communities and countries to Christ; the message is the Pope's official guidance for World Youth Day celebrations in dioceses around the world.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: The Holy See — Message of Pope Leo XIV for the 41st World Youth Day; Vatican News — Pope's WYD message

Photo: Vatican Media