Overview

• President Lee Jae Myung met Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik on July 7 in his first official engagement with a religious leader since taking office.
• Cardinal You conveyed Pope Leo XIV’s verbal invitation for Lee to visit the Holy See, marking an offer for state-level exchange.
• The cardinal said the Pope is widely expected—but not formally confirmed—to attend the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul.
• Lee urged that Pope Leo XIV consider a stop in North Korea en route to South Korea as a symbolic gesture for inter-Korean reconciliation.
• Lee’s spokesperson confirmed that plans for his visit to Rome remain under consideration with no dates set.