Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey invites young people, ages 16 to 35, to join him for a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to World Youth Day (WYD) 2027 with Pope Leo XIV in Seoul, South Korea, from Aug. 1 to 10, 2027.
The Paterson Diocese will hold three “sneak peek” information sessions about the WYD 2027’s itinerary, group package, and other details on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 to 11:15 a.m., at St. Paul Inside the Walls Center for Evangelization in Madison, N.J.; Tuesday, March 3, from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at Holy Rosary Parish in Passaic, N.J.; and on Tuesday, March 10, from 7 to 8:15 p.m., at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta, N.J.
Bishop Sweeney will be the spiritual leader for the journey, which the Paterson and Metuchen Dioceses will co-host in partnership with Verso Ministries. The scriptural theme for WYD 2027 is “Take Courage! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33).
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
John Cammarata, director of Youth Ministry for the Paterson Diocese and executive director of St. Paul Inside the Walls, said WYD is an international gathering, usually held every three years, which St. Pope John Paul II started in the 1980s.
“The pope picks a place every couple of years and invites youths and young adults to travel there for a period of time to gather, meet, and pray. It’s a beautiful experience,” said Cammarata, a veteran of three WYD pilgrimages.
After departing the United States, WYD 2027 pilgrims on the Paterson and Metuchen trip will spend a day in Seoul before the Opening Mass. Subsequent WYD activities will include Morning Catechesis, a Youth Festival, a papal welcome, Stations of the Cross, a Walking Pilgrimage and Overnight Vigil, and a Closing Mass with Pope Leo XIV. The trip will end with a “free day” in Seoul, before departure for home.
“The pope usually comes for the opening ceremony and on Saturday for the Vigil. That Saturday is when you do your pilgrimage walk. Then you sleep outside until the next morning, when the pope comes back to do the Mass,” Cammarata said.
Cammarata attended WYD 1997 in Paris, France, as a 19-year-old college student, and led groups to WYD 2002 in Toronto, Canada, and WYD 2005 in Cologne, Germany.
“Being with hundreds of thousands of people at a Vigil and then Mass with the pope at my first World Youth Day, I saw that the world is a good place,” Cammarata said. “Often we see the negativity, but the world is filled with good, faith-filled people. That was encouraging. I was there, probably with 800,000 people. Everyone was helpful because we were experiencing this together.”
The Paterson Diocese hopes for a WYD delegation of up to 70 people. The deadline to sign up for the trip and attend a “sneak peek” session is the end of June.
Cammarata encourages parishes to attend a “sneak peek” session. A young person who attends a session can build excitement for WYD 2027 among other youth in their parish. These sessions can also give parish leaders the confidence “to take young people across the world,” he said.
The cost of the trip is from $4,845 with a $500 deposit. More information and registration are available on the WYD 2027 page on the Paterson Diocese website.
