ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - President Moon invites a pastor to bless the Blue House: "Be Wise as Solomon"

Wednesday, 17 May 2017 politics   local churches   marian devotion   faith   priests  

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - As a good Catholic, before entering and settling in a new home, newly elected Korean President Moon Jae-in wanted the new home to be blessed. We are talking about the "Blue House", the official residence of the President of the Republic of South Korea, a building that also houses the presidential offices and is used to receive heads of State visiting Korea. President Moon therefore thought of calling "his pastor", or the priest who leads the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in the nearby area of Hongje-dong, Seoul, where Moon lived since January.
As Fides learns, don Paul Ryu Jong-Man, parish priest in Hongje-dong, welcomed the invitation with joy and on May 13, the day when the president took possession of the new home, went to the Blue House to impart God's blessing to people, places, and things. In the solemn blessing ceremony, the pastor, accompanied by some sisters, laid his hands on the president and his wife and prayed for him, "be wise as King Solomon". Then he told him: "Before making any decision, pray to the Holy Spirit, He will come down on you and give you his light and strength".
Don Paolo Ryu Jong-Man describes President Moon, whom he knows well, a "humble, open and pious man". President Moon told Don Paolo that he always wears a ring of the Rosary on his left hand: a sign of his devotion to Mary. The entrance to the Blue House took place on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, and therefore his presidential service to the nation begins under the protection of Mary. The parish priest gave the presidential couple a painting inspired by the theme of peace. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 17/5/2017)


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