SEOUL (SE): Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Peter Chung Soon-taek as the new archbishop of Seoul, South Korea, and apostolic administrator of Pyongyang, North Korea. A member of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites [OCD], the 60-year-old is one of the current auxiliary bishops of the South Korean capital, AsiaNews reported.
He takes over from 77-year-old Andrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, who has led the Church in Seoul since 2012 and leaves the post due to having reached the canonical age of retirement. The pope extended his tenure for two years.
“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Seoul, Korea, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, and has appointed as metropolitan archbishop of Seoul Bishop Peter Chung Soon-taek ocd, titular of Tamazuca and auxiliary of the same metropolitan see,” according to a bulletin from the Vatican press office on October 28.
In making his choice, the pope opted for a young pastor to lead the most important diocese in one of the Asian countries where Catholicism has shown greater vitality in recent years.
Significantly, this comes in the year the Church of Korea is celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of its first priest, the martyr St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon.
Bishop Chung has been the auxiliary of Seoul since 2014, UCAN reported, quoting the and is the first archbishop of Seoul to come from a religious order.
Born in Daegu in 1961, Bishop Chung first studied chemical engineering at the University of Seoul [1983-86] before joining the Carmelites, according to UCAN. He later studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic University of Seoul [1986-92]. He was ordained a priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites on 16 July 1992.
‘God always goes further. We can never imagine his plans in advance, because he always goes far beyond our thoughts. I am frightened and I ask everyone for their prayers so that I can follow in the footsteps of my extraordinary predecessors’
From 1993 to 1997, he was master of novices and then for almost two years he was master of students of the Carmelites. He studied sacred scriptures at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1999 to 2004 and obtained a master’s degree.
In 2005 he became provincial definitor of the Discalced Carmelites of Korea for three years. In 2009, he became the definitor general in Rome for the Far East and Oceania.
In Seoul, Bishop Chung was deputy director of its youth ministry and has served as chairperson of the Korean Church History Research Institute since 2016.
He also served as chairperson of the committee for youth of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. Last year he was appointed a member of the theological committee of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
On 30 December 2013, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Seoul, AsiaNews reported. In recent years, together with Cardinal Yeom, he was particularly involved with the youth ministry.
A few years ago, he told young people, “The real stars of the youth ministry are not the priests in charge, but you young people … it is up to you to deepen your faith, so as to better serve your community.”
In announcing the appointment of his successor, Cardinal Yeom called it a “great joy and blessing” that [Bishop Chung] will lead the Archdiocese of Seoul “into a new era”.
“Let us pray that [he may] be a pastor who bears good fruit in the eyes of God, in our country and in the whole Church,” the cardinal said.
The archbishop-elect of Seoul said, “God always goes further. We can never imagine his plans in advance, because he always goes far beyond our thoughts. I am frightened and I ask everyone for their prayers so that I can follow in the footsteps of my extraordinary predecessors.”
A thanksgiving Mass for Cardinal Yeom will be celebrated at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on November 30 while Bishop Chung’s installation Mass is scheduled for December 8, UCAN reported.
