Two Korean Jesuits were ordained priests at the Myeong-Dong Cathedral in Seoul on July 4. Fr Hyung-chul Simeon Kim SJ and Fr Du-hyun John Kim, SJ both entered the Society in 2002. More than 800 people joined the Ordination Mass presided by Most Rev. Kyu-man Basil Cho, Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul. During his homily, Bishop Cho asked the newly ordained Jesuits to remember that it is not our capacity that makes the priesthood possible, but the prayers of our parents and the community of faithful.
With this ordination, the Korea Province now has 106 Jesuit priests. In terms of apostolates, almost of a quarter of work in education, while 14 have been missioned abroad, including to the Jesuit mission of Cambodia, of which the Province has oversight. About 10 percent work in the spiritual ministry and another 10 percent are pursuing special studies in abroad.
The day after the ordination, the two new priests celebrated their first mass, specially prepared for the benefactors of the Society of Jesus, at the Jesuit Apostolic Centre. In their sharing of their vocation stories during the mass, the two priests expressed their gratitude for all the support they had received from benefactors and asked them to pray for more vocations.
South Korea accounts for approximately 10 percent of the Jesuits within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. Including novices and scholastics, there are 169 Jesuits in Korea, making it the 6th largest Province/Region in the Conference.
Caption for main photo: Fr Du-hyun John Kim SJ (left) and Fr Hyung-chul Simeon Kim SJ at their ordination.