The Archdiocese of Seoul in South Korea has reached “the era of 1,000 priests” upon ordaining 26 new priests for the local Church on Feb. 7. Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick, who presided over the ceremony, called on the new priests to carry out their ministry “with true love and constant joy.”
“Priests are called to serve the people of God as collaborators of the bishop and united with the bishop through their priestly ministry,” the archbishop recalled in his homily. He added: “Remember that you have been chosen and appointed from among men to carry out the work of God.”
He also urged them to “always take as an example the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and to seek and save the lost sheep.” The Archdiocese of Seoul reached the milestone 194 years after its creation.
With these 26 ordinations, the number of priests in the most important archdiocese of the Asian country, which will host the next World Youth Day in 2027, rose from 974 (including a cardinal, an archbishop, three bishops, and four monsignors) to exactly 1,000.
In total, the Korean Church has 5,721 priests, according to the latest figures from the episcopate. In its history, the local Church has ordained more than 7,000 priests, St. Andrew Kim Taegon being the first person to receive holy orders in 1845.
At the Feb. 7 ceremony, the second deaf Korean priest (and the fourth in all of Asia) was also ordained. In a statement to the Archdiocese of Seoul, Father Kim Dong-jun said he wants to “serve deaf culture in the manner of Jesus Christ, with sensitivity and warmth toward the weak.”
Kim will begin his first pastoral assignment as assistant pastor of Ephatha Parish, the first parish for the deaf in the archdiocese, and will also serve as chaplain of Aehwa School in Seoul.
