ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Archbishop Nappa celebrates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Pontifical Mission Societies in Seoul

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – "It is with great emotion that I visit this land of martyrs that is Korea, a unique country in the history of the Church, where the faith took root spontaneously before the arrival of the missionaries." With these words, Archbishop Emilio Nappa began his homily at the commemorative Mass for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Korean National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS). The Eucharistic concelebration was presided over this morning, Monday, March 31, by Bishop Mathias Iong-hoon Ri, President of the Korean Bishops' Conference, in the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Seoul, in Myeongdong.

Archbishop Nappa, current Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City and former President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, concelebrated the Mass at 10 a.m., in the presence of Cardinal Andrea Yeom, Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul; Archbishop Giovanni Gaspari, Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea; and numerous prelates, priests, former national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies, religious sisters and lay missionaries, as well as hundreds of faithful. “Your ancestors in the faith,” said Archbishop Nappa, “kept their faith under severe persecution, dreaming of eternal life. Nobles and servants sat together, calling each other brothers and sisters.” The former PMS president "gave thanks and praise to God" for all those who have served the Korean PMS throughout their history, inviting the faithful to "implore with the same ardent intention [...] so that the steadfast faith that animated your ancestors in the faith may be awakened in you."

In his welcoming address, Cardinal Andrew Soo-jung Yeom, Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul, retraced the history of the Korean PMS, recalling that the Pontifical Mission Societies of Korea were established on June 29, 1965, under the name ‘Pontifical Commission for the Propagation of the Faith’.
He also emphasized that in 60 years, we have moved from a "Church that receives" (referring to the period when Korea was still poor and seminaries benefited from PMS subsidies) to a "Church that gives." Indeed, "the Church on mission," the Cardinal explained, "is a Church on the move, a Church that spreads the fragrance of Christ through the charity of daily life."

The Eucharistic celebration was followed by a conference on mission and several testimonies from consecrated and lay missionaries. Thomas Aquinas Seong-ho Song and Rosa Eun-hyung Rosa Yang, a Consolata lay missionary couple and grandparents of three grandchildren, recounted how they were called at the age of 60 to a mission in Tanzania after a previous experience in Mozambique. "Living with people and loving them" in order to "be able to proclaim Christ" were the main characteristics of the mission witnessed by the couple. As administrators at the Mission Center, he and her vice-directors, Thomas and Rosa, also reiterated the importance of learning the language and obtaining a driver's license to begin interacting with the local community and becoming accustomed to its cultural expressions. They also emphasized that the situation they have embraced is "a place where it is difficult to live without prayer."

Another significant testimony came from Sister Anna Kang, a member of the Conceptionist Teaching Missionaries and a missionary in the Philippines from 2018 to 2023. With the help of the PMS and thanks to the support of many other donors, Sister Anna continued a daycare project, created specifically to provide a place of welcome and education for children who come from these homes where "a single room serves as a kitchen, dormitory, and bathroom."

During the lecture given by Father Peter Dong Won Kim, head of the Department of Mission ad Gentes of the Archdiocese of Seoul, he recounted his missionary experience in Taiwan, working with an aboriginal parish in the mountains, emphasizing that "missionary travel is not dictated by personal preferences (even if it seems so), but by the missionary's response to God's call."

"We hope that the missionary spirit you experienced as President of the Pontifical Mission Societies will continue to accompany you in fulfilling your new mission," expressed Father Marco Sungsu Kim, official of the Dicastery for Evangelization (section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches), who accompanied the Archbishop during his visit to Japan and South Korea. The former President of the PMS took the time, at the end of his homily, to thank the Korean Church, which places its priests at the disposal of the universal Church.

Archbishop Nappa's visit to South Korea began on March 26 with a visit to the Apostolic Nunciature and a meeting with the Nuncio, Msgr. Giovanni Gaspari, and ended this morning. During his stay, Archbishop Nappa participated with a message of good wishes in the Mass celebrated on March 26, also in Myeongdong, for the 12th anniversary of the papal election of Pope Francis, with all the Korean bishops gathered for the Ordinary Plenary Assembly of the Korean Bishops' Conference.
The Archbishop also celebrated a Mass with the Salesian Sisters (about 30 sisters) on March 27 and took the opportunity to thank them for their commitment to North Korean youth. On the same day, he visited the Korean Bishops' Conference where he was welcomed with "deep gratitude" by Secretary General Stefano Cheol-soo Lee and conveyed the greetings of Cardinal Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The day's program concluded with a meeting with Catholic secondary school students. On March 28, he then visited the Diocese of Daegu, where he celebrated Mass, had a brief meeting with Bishop Thaddeus Hwan-kil Cho, and visited the Daegu Archdiocesan Major Seminary, Gwandeokjung (Museum of Martyrdom), the cathedral, the headquarters of ‘Catholic Times’, and the regional headquarters of the ‘Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation’. On the 29th, he visited the Diocese of Suwon, where Bishop Mathias Iong-hoon Ri, president of the Korean Bishops' Conference, is bishop. In the afternoon, after visiting the Marian Shrine of Namyang (dedicated first to the anonymous martyrs, and later, in 1991, to the Virgin Mary), he concelebrated Mass with approximately 200 children at the parish of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in Hwaseong (Dongtan Bansong-dong Catholic Church). He then returned to the Seoul Major Seminary on Sunday, March 30, and visited the Seosomun Martyrs' Shrine, the site where many early Korean Catholics were martyred, including the first to be baptized, Peter Seung-hun Yi.

The gifts that Archbishop Nappa brought to the bishops and collaborators in Japan and Korea consisted of a wooden reproduction of the crucifix offered by Saint John Mary Vianney to Blessed Pauline Jaricot (prepared by the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, POPF) and booklets on the life of the foundress of the societies and of Jeanne Bigard (foundress of the Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle, POSPA), as well as the missionary rosaries of the Dicastery. (PR) (Agenzia Fides, 31/3/2025)

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