A young Korean woman who was recently baptized and entered the Catholic Church shared her testimony and explained that she decided to participate in World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, which is taking place Aug. 1–6, “for many reasons. But I really wanted to see the Pope.”
Interviewed in English by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, during the first day of WYD Lisbon 2023, the young woman, whose baptismal name is Justina, shared that she was recently baptized and that World Youth Day means a lot to her “because I don’t really know much about the Catholic community yet and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get to know about the Catholic religion a lot,” she explained.
“It’s just so amazing to see all the Catholic youth from all over the world gathered here together through the faith, by the faith,” she added.
“It’s not official yet,” she said with excitement, but she has “heard many times” that South Korea “is going to be the next country” to host this massive Catholic event.
“It’s going to be very challenging for Korea, because the Catholic community is not very large,” she said, but “we’re really looking forward” to welcoming all the young people “from all around the world” and being able to “show our country.”
In South Korea, a country of 52.6 million people with a majority that has no religious affiliation, Catholics represent about 11% of the population.
According to the Vatican Fides agency, there are 5,703 priests and 1,784 parishes in the country.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.