By Soccom Korea

Seoul, Korea, 24 January 2024 -- On 24 January, the feast day of St Francis de Sales, there was great rejoicing among the Salesians in Korea. The Holy Mass was celebrated in which three confreres were ordained priests and one deacon at the provincial house in Seoul. The ordaining prelate was Archbishop Hijino Kim HeeJung, retired archbishop of the Archdiocese of Gwangju and a graduate of Salesian High School. The Mass was attended by about 1,000 people, including various groups of the Salesian Family and the families of the ordained.

The confreres ordained priests were Stefano Kim Bumjun, Marciano Lee Changmin, and Joseph Shin Yoonmin. And Dominic Kim Hyunki was ordained deacon. Their journey has been an interesting one compared to the normal journey towards ordination. First, they were sent to Paranaque in Manila, Philippines, for their theology studies, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to return to Korea and complete the rest of their theological studies in Seoul. As a result, they were ordained about two to three years later than they would have been if they had gone through the normal process. New deacon, Dominic, had a unique twist in his vocation journey, as he spent five years in practical training and received his ordination three years later than his peers. However, these fine confreres did not use their longer preparation period as wasted time, but rather used it to acquire various talents that are essential in the field of youth ministry. In particular, the three ordained to the priesthood have outstanding skills in singing and dancing, bringing great joy to young people in various pastoral settings where they meet children, and they showed off their talents during the ordination ceremony, thrilling the attendees.

Archbishop Heejung Kim, who celebrated the Holy Mass, retired two years ago after serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Gwangju for ten years, and is the only alumnus of the Salesian High School to become a bishop. In his homily, the archbishop encouraged the newly ordained to practice their charity for people with humility, relying on God's providence rather than human ability, and invoked the grace of St Francis de Sale's gentleness.

The Archbishop called on the Salesians, who are celebrating their 70th anniversary in Korea this year, to offer their charism of being a light to the world in the spirit of Don Bosco, especially referring to the words of Confucius: "When one reaches the age of 70, it is not contrary to the law to follow one's heart's desire." He urged the entire Province to start now to prepare for the centennial celebration by further refining the preventive system for society.

In his word of thanks on behalf of the ordained, Fr Lee Changmin expressed his deep gratitude to all those who attended in such cold weather (10 degrees below zero) and to their parents, SDB, and the faithful who accompanied them on their vocation journey. He also vowed to take the words of the homily to heart, asking them to be a spark of love in the hearts of the poor youth.

Congratulating the newly ordained, Fr Timothy Choi, the Provincial, remembered the different life stories of each of them and emphasized that these stories of life prove us that we are all witnesses to the mystery of the Lord. He encouraged them to be Salesians who meet and accompany the poor and needy children with the heart of Don Bosco so that they can dream.

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