Pope Leo XIV welcomes President Lee Jae-myung of the Republic of Korea at the Vatican. Photo: VATICAN MEDIA
VATICAN CITY — On the morning of Monday, June 15, 2026, Pope Leo XIV welcomed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to the Apostolic Palace, a meeting that brought together two men shaped by very different journeys, but united by a shared desire for peace on the Korean Peninsula and the welfare of the young.
The private audience, which was followed by a separate meeting between President Lee and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, covered three interconnected themes: the 63-year history of diplomatic ties between the Holy See and the Republic of Korea, the Church’s contribution to Korean society, and the preparations for World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul.
An Invitation from Seoul
The most widely reported outcome of the meeting was President Lee’s formal invitation for Pope Leo XIV to visit South Korea for World Youth Day 2027, scheduled for August 3–8 in Seoul. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac confirmed the invitation in a press briefing: “President Lee officially invited Pope Leo XIV to visit South Korea on that occasion,” he said, adding that the two leaders “agreed to cooperate closely to ensure a successful hosting” of the event.
The invitation carries particular significance because Pope Leo XIV has not yet made a papal visit to Asia since his election in May 2025. World Youth Day 2027, with its theme “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33), is expected to draw more than two million young pilgrims to Seoul, making it one of the largest gatherings in the history of the Korean Church.
The Pope’s response was described as positive. The Vatican, for its part, emphasized patience and hope, noting that the Holy See continues to support dialogue and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula even in the face of North Korea’s persistent rejection of such overtures.
The President of the Republic met with Pope Leo in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. Photo: Vatican Media
A President Shaped by Hardship
President Lee Jae-myung, who took office in June 2025 after winning a snap election following the impeachment of his predecessor, brings to the Vatican an unusual personal story. Born in December 1964 in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, he grew up in poverty and worked as a child laborer in a factory, where an industrial accident left him with a permanent arm deformity. He later put himself through university, became a human rights lawyer, and spent nearly two decades defending the rights of workers and the poor before entering politics.
He is a Christian, and his gifts to the Pope, a sculpture symbolizing compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, and community restoration, alongside a white porcelain container evoking the simplicity and humility of Korean ceramics, spoke to a man who understands suffering and who has thought carefully about what healing looks like.
Peace on the Peninsula
Beyond the formalities of diplomacy, President Lee also sought the Holy See’s support for his administration’s efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula, a cause that has long been close to the heart of the Catholic Church in Korea.
The timing of the visit was striking. On the day before the audience, June 14, Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy and South Korea’s most senior Church official in Rome, celebrated a special Mass at the Vatican to pray for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. President Lee himself attended the Mass, a moment that underlined the deep connection between Korea’s Catholic community and the nation’s longing for an end to the division that has separated families and communities since 1953.
“The Korean Peninsula can never give up on peace,” Cardinal You said in his homily, words that resonated with the President’s own message to the Pope the following morning.
Sixty-Three Years of Friendship
The meeting also marked a milestone in the long relationship between the Holy See and South Korea. Diplomatic ties were established on December 11, 1963, making 2026 the 63rd year of a friendship that has grown steadily through the decades. Pope St. John Paul II visited South Korea twice, in 1984, when he canonized the 103 Korean Martyrs, and in 1989 for the 44th International Eucharistic Congress. Pope Francis visited in 2014 for the 6th Asian Youth Day.
The Holy See Press Office noted that Cardinal Parolin and President Lee also discussed “the positive contribution offered by the local Catholic Church to Korean society, particularly in the fields of education and social welfare”, a recognition of the thousands of Catholic schools, hospitals, and social services that have served the Korean people for generations.
As we give thanks for this meeting of faith and diplomacy, and as we look forward with hope to World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul, let us resolve to:
- The Sacrament of Confession: To seek God’s grace to become true peacemakers in our own families and communities, beginning the work of reconciliation where we live.
- Eucharistic Adoration: To pray for the success of World Youth Day 2027, that it may be a moment of genuine encounter with Christ for the millions of young people who will gather in Seoul.
- The Holy Rosary: To entrust the Korean Peninsula to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking her intercession for peace, reunification, and the protection of all who suffer under oppression in the North.
- The Holy Mass: To participate with gratitude for the gift of the Church’s presence in Korea — a Church born in the blood of martyrs and sustained by the faith of ordinary people.
- Sacred Scripture: To meditate on the Lord’s words: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9), committing ourselves to support every genuine effort toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and in our own world.
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