The new archbishop took office on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of Korea. He wants to make “the Archdiocese of Seoul a synodal Church” and “bear witness to the faith that our ancestors professed until they shed their blood 200 years ago.”
Seoul (AsiaNews) – Mgr Peter Chung Soon-Taick officially took office as the head of the Archdiocese of Seoul in a solemn ceremony held yesterday – solemnity of Mary Immaculate, patroness of the Church of Korea – in Myeongdong cathedral.
In the ceremony, Archbishop Chung, 60, hitherto auxiliary bishop of Seoul, chose as theme the synodal path to which Pope Francis has called the Churches of the whole world.
For this reason, he had about 30 people next to him in the procession that brought him to his episcopal chair; they youth, the sick and people on the margins of society.
"As the Holy Father mentioned in Christus vivit, I would like to encourage and accompany all young people while making the Archdiocese of Seoul a synodal Church,” said Archbishop Chung said in the homily. Thus, “lay people, priests and the religious [can] take co-responsibility and walk forward together as the People of God.”
"Together we will learn how to live and bear witness to the faith that our ancestors professed until they shed their blood 200 years ago as well as how to act to ensure that the Church is the salt and light of the world.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 600 people representing the entire archdiocese were able to take part in the ceremony – with another 600 following the service on giant screens in a nearby room.
Card Andrew Yeom, the outgoing archbishop, welcomed Bishop Chung, handing him the crosier. The papal bull of appointment was read by Apostolic Nuncio Alfred Xuereb.
Cardinal Yeom described the new archbishop “as the leader most needed in our time. As the Church is suffering as much as we are in this COVID-19 era, let us follow the lives of all the saints under the leadership of the new archbishop.”
Appointed by Pope Francis on 28 October, Archbishop Chung is the fourteenth archbishop of Seoul and, as such, he is also the apostolic administrator of Pyongyang.
Originally from Daegu, he is a member of the Discalced Carmelite order. Auxiliary Bishop since December 2013, he is much loved by the young people he has accompanied over the years in his service alongside Cardinal Yeom.