South Korea: Twenty new priests ordained

Ordination Myeongdong Cathedral - Image Fides

Source: Fides

Twenty seminarians were ordained as priests in Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul on Friday, by Cardinal Andrea Yeom Soo-jung. Because of strict Covid safety measures, only their parents and parish priests were allowed to attend the Mass, together with the four auxiliary bishops of Seoul.

Cardinal Yeom said, in the midst of the pandemic, the Archdiocese would "promote the vocation of the priest even more resolutely," with the confidence that God will always call new "workers for his vineyard."

At the conclusion of the Mass, Cardinal Yeom thanked God for making this ordination possible. Above all, he thanked the parents of the new priests and everyone who participated in their formation, the parish priests and nuns, teachers, spiritual guides, all the staff of the Seminary and the benefactors who contributed to the support with prayer and with material donations.

One of the new priests is a member of the 'Seoul International Catholic Missionary Society' founded in 2005 by the Archdiocese of Seoul to send missionaries to Latin America. The Cardinal said it is a concrete sign that the Church in Korea has transformed itself from a "receiving Church" to a "giving Church" that is ready to take a missionary and solidarity view abroad and thus ready for the 'Missio ad Gentes'.

Two of the new priests are from the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of the Neocatechumenal Way, founded in Seoul in 2014. One of these is Don Fabiano Rebeggiani, 39, from Rome, who was the first and only Italian to be formed and ordained a priest in Korea.

Before celebrating his first Mass in the Seminary, Don Fabiano said he was very grateful to the Lord for the great privilege of serving as a priest in the Church in Korea". His parents traveled from Rome to attend their son's ordination. They thanked the Church of Korea and Cardinal Andrea Yeom for supporting their son during his years of education in Korea.