Columbans celebrate 80 years in Korea

On 29 October 2013, the Columbans in Korea began a series of celebrations to mark their 80 years of missionary presence in Korea.

The Columban Superior General, Fr Kevin O’Neill, joined Archbishop (now Cardinal) Andrew Reom Soo-jung of Seoul,

Additional Material

Columban Homily on Feast of Korean Martyrs
By Fr Donal O’Keeffe
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The homily by Columban Donal O’Keefe, who is based in Korea, was delivered on 20 September in Los Angeles, where the Columbans concluded their General Assembly, which happens every six years. During the Assembly they elected a new Superior General - Australian Fr Kevin O’Neill, who has been working in China.read story...
Columbans who died in the Korean War
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Theresa Lee, a Korean who taught English to Columban priests in Seoule when she was in university there and now lives in the USA, tells the story of Columbans who died during the Korean War. The video was produced by Fr Malachy Smyth, one of three brothers from Ireland who have worked in Korea as Columbans.

missionaries, benefactors and parishioners from former Columban parishes in a commemorative Eucharist in St Mary’s Cathedral, Seoul, to give thanks to God for these 80 years of missionary presence.

‘The Columbans have made a wonderful contribution to the Korean Church and people. We are truly grateful to them’, said Archbishop Yeom at the commemorative Eucharist.

L to R: Fr Carlo Eiukyun Lee, Joon Bin Lim, Rev Augustine Jehoon Lee.
3 May 2014. See below Some Columban updates from Korea. [Source: FB of Joon Bin Lim]

The first Columbans arrived in Korea on that same date, 29 October in 1933. There were ten of them, nine having been ordained the previous year. Their average age was 25 years. One of them, Fr Dan McMenamin, was to die of uberculosis four years later at just 29 years of age.

On the Second Sunday of Easter in April 1934, the newly arrived Columbans took possession of their first parish in Korea on the outskirts of the city of Mokpo. This was to be the first of 129 parishes that the Columbans would establish during those 80 years in Korea. In the city of Seoul alone, Columbans established 25 parishes.

The 80-year celebrations of missionary presence in Korea will continue until the Second Sunday of Easter this year, 27 April, and will give thanks to God for the work of Columbans in nine different dioceses throughout the country.

Pope Francis will be in Korea from 14 to 18 August to take part in the sixth Asian Youth Day in Daejon. He will also preside at the beatification of 124 Korean martyrs.

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Asian Youth Day video, including history of Church in Korea.

The 80 years of Columban missionary presence in Korea were years of struggle and instability. When Columbans arrived in 1933 Korea was occupied by the Japanese. World War II saw Australian, New Zealand and American Columbans repatriated to their home countries while the Irish were either imprisoned or lived under house arrest.

Later the Korean War brought untold destruction to the country. Seven Columbans died during this war and two survived imprisonment. In the post war period, Columbans followed the people from the rural areas into the large cities such as Seoul, Inchon and Busan, which were in the process of rapid industrialization.

Here they set up parishes and accompanied the people, many now industrial workers, in their struggles for justice and basic human rights. This was also the period of military dictatorships, which lasted until the end of the 1980s.

The Columbans have only one parish left in Korea today. As well as parish work over the past 80 years, they have ministered in a wide variety of apostolates. These include: migrant workers, the intellectually challenged, university students, the aged, farmers, the urban poor, sufferers from gambling and alcohol addictions and the rights of workers.

Today Korean Columban Priests and Diocesan Associate Priests, Columban Sisters and Lay Missionaries work across the globe in Latin America and other parts of Asia. Eighty years of missionary service continues to bear fruit.

Some Columban updates from Korea

The Columban year of celebration of 80 years in Korea ended with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hyginus Kim Heejung of Kwangju where Columbans began working in the spring of 1934. The Archbishop was baptized by Fr Thomas Cusack, one of those killed in the Korean War. Auxiliary Bishop Simon Ok Hyunjin of the Archdiocese was one of the concelebrants. He was baptized by Fr Patrick Muldoon who has been in Korea since 1959.

There are two happy ‘addenda’ to the year-long celebration. The first is ordination to the priesthood of Carlo Euikyun Jung and to the diaconate of Lee Jehoon Augustine Lee, set for 3 May. Father Carlo had his First Mission Assignment in Fiji and Reverend Jehoon here in the Philippines.

The second ‘addendum’ is the blessing of the new formation facility for Columban seminarians and Columban Lay Mission center in Seoul on 24 May.

This article was published in January-February 2014 issue of The Far East, the magazine of the Columbans in Australia and New Zealand.