Korean prelate advises priests to seek God in mission territory

South Korea's Seoul Archdiocese commissioned two missionary priests for international service. The priests' assignments were in Mexico and Taiwan.

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul Archdiocese celebrated a "Special Mass" on May 4 at Myeongdong Cathedral church for the dispatch of two priests overseas to serve the universal Church.

According to Seoul’s Archdiocese website, Father Taegon Andrew Kyung-mo Yang was sent to the Archdiocese of Monterrey, Mexico. On the other hand, Father Kyung-Jin Kim was assigned to Shin-Bishop, Taiwan.

In his homily, Archbishop Soon-taek admonished the two priests who were going to the mission land to respect the local culture and the people they would meet on the mission and seek God at the mission places. 

"I offer two words of encouragement to the two priests assigned on missions abroad. Respect the culture and be the priest who meets God in the nation," Archbishop Sun-taek said.

In addition, he hoped that when the two missionaries returned from their missionary trip, they would tell the Korean people about their missionary experiences in that nation.

"Please share the love you received in the mission land,” he said.

Auxiliary Bishop Benedictus Hee-song Son of Seoul and 32 priests from the diocese were present during the service. 

The 400 Catholics, many of whom were relatives and friends of the sent priests, were also there.

In addition to ministering to Koreans, Father Ang Kyung-mo, assigned to Mexico, will provide pastoral care to the local populace. There are around 240 parishes and 400 priests in the Archdiocese of Monterrey, Mexico, North America. 

Nonetheless, because the number of priests does not match the number of Catholics, who make up 94 percent of the diocese's entire population, a priest must shepherd more than 7,000 Catholics. 

Meanwhile, due to a scarcity of priestly vocations, the Taiwanese Shinju Diocese, to which Father Kyung-jin Kim is assigned, has requested that priests from several nations, including the Seoul Archdiocese,

According to the data, nearly ninety percent of the priests ministering in the Shinju diocese are missionaries sent from other countries, including Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

To date, the Seoul Archdiocese has dispatched 21 priests to11 countries throughout the globe, including France, Guatemala, Peru, and Taiwan.

The Catholic population in South Korea is growing. The history of Christianity in Korea began with a Native-led lay movement. 

In 1784, Yi Seung-hun, who had been baptized in China, returned to Korea and started baptizing others.

There are 5.6 million Catholics in the country's population of 51 million as of 2019. 
The administrative structure of the Church of Korea in South Korea consists of three archdioceses, 14 dioceses, and a military ordinariate. -  With inputs from Kasmir Nema