16 priests, 25 deacons ordained in Seoul, site of World Youth Day 2027

 

Sixteen new priests were ordained Feb. 1–2, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea. / Credit: Archdiocese of Seoul

ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 6, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul recently ordained 16 new priests and 25 new deacons for the archdiocese that will host World Youth Day 2027 in South Korea.

With these ordinations, the number of priests in the main South Korean archdiocese goes from 969 to 985; if the 25 deacons become priests (none were reported as permanent deacons), that number would rise to 1,010.

The 985 priests include Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, archbishop emeritus of Seoul; the current archbishop; and the three current auxiliary bishops.

A news brief posted on the Archdiocese of Seoul’s website states that the ordinations took place on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 in the Myeongdong Cathedral, both presided over by Chung.

The article further explained that “deacons and priests who are selected as clergy through the sacrament of holy orders have the duties of proclaiming the Gospel, administering the sacraments, and serving the Church as collaborators of the bishop. In particular, the priest celebrates holy Mass as a representative of Christ.”

Of the deacons who were ordained, 21 received their formation at the archdiocesan seminary, one at the Redemptoris Mater seminary, one belongs to the Missionaries of the Word, and two others are Dominicans.

The text explained that “a deacon is the first level of clergy in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and can perform the sacraments of baptism and marriage.”

The biblical theme for the ordination ceremony of the priests and deacons was “Let innocence and uprightness preserve me; I wait for you, O Lord” (Ps 25:21).

Deacon Hwang Jun-ho, who submitted the relevant Scripture, explained that “this verse from David’s psalm contains the prayer of a person who responds to God’s call and advances toward him.”

“As a priest who is an instrument of God, there may be times in life when you wander and falter due to external and internal temptations and trials, but I chose this verse with the hope that you will be able to overcome these difficulties with ‘innocence and uprightness’ and stand before God on the last day as a righteous priest who resembles Jesus,” he said.

In South Korea, a country of 52.6 million inhabitants with a majority identifying as nonreligious, Catholics represent about 11% of the population. According to the Vatican news agency Fides, there are more than 5,700 priests and 1,784 parishes in the country.

Pope Francis visited South Korea Aug. 13–18, 2014, during an apostolic journey for the sixth Asian Youth Day.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 12353 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*