A young woman who recently received Baptism and joined the Catholic Church shared her expectations regarding a possible World Youth Day (WYD) in her native South Korea.

Interviewed by ACI Prensa during the first day of WYD Lisbon 2023, the young woman, whose baptismal name is Justina, joyfully mentioned that she has “heard many times” that South Korea “will be the next country” to host this massive Catholic event.

“It will be very challenging for Korea, because the Catholic community is not very large,” she stated, “but we are really looking forward” to welcoming young people “from all over the world” and “showing them our country.”

Justina explained that she decided to participate in WYD Lisbon 2023, taking place in the Portuguese capital from August 1st to 6th, with the presence of Pope Francis, “for many reasons. But I really wanted to see the Pope.”

“I was baptized recently, and World Youth Day means a lot to me because I don’t know much about the Catholic community yet, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about the Catholic religion,” she explained.

“It’s amazing to see all the young Catholics from around the world gathered here for the faith,” she added. In South Korea, a country with a population of 52.6 million, where the majority declares no religion, Catholics represent around 11% of the population.

According to the Vatican agency Fides, there are 5,703 priests and 1,784 parishes in the country.

This article was originally published on ACI Prensa