Asian Youth, Wake Up! The Glory of the Martyrs Shines on You.
This is the theme of the *Sixth Asian Youth Day which will take place in the Diocese of Daejeon, South Korea, in August, 2014. None other than Pope Francis himself will join the youth of Asia gathering for the occasion in this region of Korea that was the home of many of the Korean martyrs and the first two Korean priests. During his visit Pope Francis will beatify 124 Korean martyrs.
His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, canonized 103 Korean martyrs in Seoul in 1984. It is said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians and one cannot help thinking that the history of martyrdom in the Catholic Church in Korea has had a lot to do with the growth of the Church there. Over the past 10 years the number of Catholics has grown by 70% and they now number 5.4 million in a total population of 51.2 million.
Of course, numbers alone are not important, but the dynamism of the Korean church and the vibrant involvement and commitment of the laity is also often recognised and acknowledged.
The Missionary Society of St Columban has been privileged to have been part of this history of growth and development for 80 years. The 80th anniversary of the arrival in Korea in 1933 of the first band of Columban priests was recently commemorated with Masses in all the Korean dioceses in which Columban missionaries have served over those years.
Celebrations continued this year with the ordination of two Korean Columbans to the priesthood and one to the diaconate. Stephen Seo was ordained a priest in March in Daejeon, where the youth will gather with the Pope in August, and Carlo Jung was ordained priest and Augustin Lee ordained deacon in the city of Incheon in May. This has brought the number of ordained Korean Columbans to 12.
A good number of Korean diocesan priests are also on mission with Columbans in the Americas and the Philippines. Korean Sisters and Lay Missionaries also continue to grow in numbers and serve on mission in various countries around the world.
Cardinal Andrew Yeom, the Archbishop of Seoul, has expressed the hope that the visit of Pope Francis to Korea may produce a "miracle" for the Korean peninsula, helping North and South to enter into a new dialogue on the road to unification.
Perhaps the combination of Asian youth and Pope Francis and the glory of the Korean martyrs that shines on them may make this long-held dream become a reality.
Columban Fr Raymond Scanlon worked in Korea for many years and attended the ordinations in May this year.
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*Asian Youth, Wake Up! The Glory of the Martyrs Shines on You. |