The Catholic Church in South Korea marked a historic milestone as the Archdiocese of Seoul ordained its 1,000th priest.
Seoul Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick led the ordination of 26 deacons on February 7 at the Myeongdong Cathedral.
Twenty five of the priests were from the Archdiocese of Seoul, with one coming from the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.
A day before the priestly ordination, 17 seminarians were ordained deacons at the cathedral on February 6, also by Archbishop Chung.
Both ceremonies were broadcast live on the CPBC Catholic Peace Broadcasting.
With the ordination of 26 new priests, the clergy of the Archdiocese of Seoul is now composed of 1,000 priests, which includes one cardinal, one archbishop, three bishops, and four monsignors.
Among the newly ordained clergymen is Father Kim Dong-jun (baptismal name Gallisto), a deaf priest.
Soime 18 years ago, South Korea saw the ordination of Asia’s first deaf priest, Father Park Min-seo, who earned his Doctorate in Theology in the United States in May 2024.
Meanwhile, Father Ryu Ho-jun (baptismal name Andrea) and Father Kim Yong-woo (baptismal name John the Baptist) are the younger brothers of Father Ryu Ho-young and Father Kim Yong-joo, respectively.
Therefore, the archdiocese has gained two sibling priests.
According to the statistics from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, there are 5,721 priests across the country as of December 2023.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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