LONDON

The South Korean capital Seoul will be the venue for the next World Youth Day (WYD) in 2027, Pope Francis announced on Sunday.

Speaking at the closing of "Holly Mass for the WYD" in Portugal's capital Lisbon, the pontiff expressed his gratitude for everyone who made the Catholic youth festival possible, Vatican News reported.

He said that the next WYD will be held in Seoul in 2027, which makes South Korea the second Asian country hosting the mass event for young people organized by the Catholic Church since 1984.

He also invited the young people to visit Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year, calling it the "Jubilee of Young People."

Francis on Wednesday began his four-day visit to Portugal to attend the event.

In his opening mass on Thursday, he led a crowd of around 500,000 young Catholics from around the world.

Following the farewell ceremony at the Figo Maduro air base in Lisbon, the pope is expected to leave Lisbon at 6.15 pm local time (1715GMT).

The WYD gathering in Asia took place in the Philippines on Jan. 10-15, 1995 with the attendance of a record 5 million people.