Preparing for the Columban Centenary 2018
I recently had the joy of attending the ordinations of two Korean Columbans in their home dioceses in South Korea.
The first ordination was that of Fr Antonio Seok who was ordained by Archbishop Thaddeus Cho in the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Daegu, a venue of historical significance in the Columban story in Korea. Daegu is where the first group of Columban missionaries arrived in 1933. The group consisted of eight priests from Ireland, one from the USA and one Australian. They were welcomed, provided with accommodation and introduced to the language and customs of Korea by the French bishop, Bishop Florian Demange, and the French priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society.
So it was this thought that was on my mind as I processed into the Cathedral along with the archbishop, many priests of the diocese and a number of my fellow Columbans. That pioneer group would have visited and prayed and offered Mass in this same Cathedral 84 years ago. I imagined them looking down from above, joyful in appreciation of this ordination and the growth of our mission society in Korea since their arrival.
On the following day, Fr Antonio Seok offered his first Mass in the presence of his home parish community in a church occupying the basement of one of the large apartment buildings of modern-day Daegu.
One week later I travelled to the city of Gwangju for the ordination of Fr Andrew Ryu in the magnificent parish church of Yeomjudong. Once more I was conscious of Columban history as this province of Chollanamdo was the area entrusted to that first group of Columbans after they completed their training in Daegu. Under their leadership it would become the diocese of Gwangju.
The ordaining bishop this time was Bishop Simon Ok who was joined in the sanctuary by Emeritus Archbishop Victorinus Kim, who, despite his advanced age, made every effort to be present for the first man from the diocese founded by the Columbans to be ordained a Columban. Again I was thinking of the many missionaries from Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand who had laboured in this diocese for many years in anticipation of this new day.
One further fitting element was the venue for Fr Andrew Ryu’s first Mass. It was the parish church of Pangnimdong, a parish founded by Columban Father Peter Tierney in 1967 and served by several other Columban Fathers since.
Fr Seok and Fr Ryu are the 14th and 15th Korean Columban priests. In preparation for priesthood they studied first at Sogang University in Seoul and later at Atenao University in Manila. They also spent two years experiencing missionary life and learning Chinese language in Taiwan and it is to Taiwan that they will head as priests to engage in mission there after some months of pastoral ministry in Korea. We wish Frs Seok and Ryu many years of joyful and fruitful evangelization as Columban missionaries.
Columban Fr Ray Scanlon resides at the Columban Mission House in Essendon, Australia.
Related Links
- Read more from The Far East - May 2017
