At Holy See, speaker pitches South Korea’s bid to host papal event

South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo met with Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik on Monday at the residence of the South Korean ambassador to the Holy See.

Kim’s visit to Italy comes as South Korea and the Holy See mark their 60th anniversary of forming diplomatic ties.

In a release, the speaker’s office said that the Assembly speaker and the Cardinal Lazzaro discussed South Korea’s bid to host the next World Youth Day, a global event for young people organized by the Catholic Church, in 2027.

As a suggestion to the speaker, You spoke about turning the 2027 event into a “celebration of peace,” held near the demilitarized zone, the release said.

You was quoted in the release saying Pope Francis was aware South Korea was bidding to host the event, and that he was still hoping to visit North Korea.

According to the release, You told Kim he hoped the relations between North and South Korea would improve so that the World Youth Day could become a gateway for the pope to visit Pyongyang.