Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – Mgr. Peter Chung Soon-Taick O.C.D., is the new Archbishop of Seoul and Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang. The appointment of the Holy See was announced on October 28 by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, currently Archbishop of Seoul, during the Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Myeong-dong, which the Archdiocese of Seoul dedicates on the last Thursday of each month, to disadvantaged people, urging the faithful to pay particular attention to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the population.
As reported in a note sent to Fides by the Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Seoul, in his homily, Cardinal Yeom welcomed the appointment of Bishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick, currently Auxiliary Bishop, saying: "I am very grateful for the great gift that the Holy Spirit has sent to our Archdiocese and to the whole Church in Korea. I pray that Archbishop Peter Chung will have the grace of being guided by the Holy Spirit during the diocesan synodal process".
Archbishop Alfred Xuereb, Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea, in the message read to the faithful, expressed, in the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, "the most heartfelt congratulations to the new Archbishop, assuring him prayers and support and invoking abundant blessings on him". Archbishop Chung, Cardinal Yeom, auxiliary Bishops, clergy and religious and all the people of God in the Archdiocese of Seoul invoked, during the celebration, the special protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.
Taking the floor, the new Archbishop said: "Christ Jesus is beyond the reach of men. We absolutely cannot imagine his plans, because they always go far beyond our thoughts. Today I am full of apprehension. With the help of prayers, I will try to follow in the footsteps of my extraordinary predecessors. "The inauguration Mass will be celebrated in Seoul on December 8, 2021, the Solemnity of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the Church in Korea.
The new Archbishop was born on August 5, 1961 in Daegu. He studied chemical engineering at the Seoul National University (1980-1984). After graduating, he entered the seminary for priestly formation at the Catholic University of Korea, in Seoul and entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites. He made his perpetual vows in the Order of Discalced Carmelites and followed a course in biblical theology at the Graduate School of the Catholic University of Korea in 1992. He was ordained a priest on July 16, 1992. I studied Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, in Rome, in 2000-2004. In 2009 he became General Definitor of the Order of Discalced Carmelites in Rome for the Far East and Oceania.
On December 30, 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul. In 2014 he became Episcopal Vicar for the western region as well as for the religious and young people of the Archdiocese of Seoul and then headed the Commission for Youth Ministry in the Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK). In 2016, he became president of the Korean Church History Research Foundation and president of the Korean Commission for the Causes of Saints, as well as the Commission for the Exaltation of Korean Martyrs in the Archdiocese of Seoul. Last year he became a member of the Office for Theological Matters in the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2021)
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