The Catholic Peace Weekly has an article on the recent ordinations in the Seoul Diocese, commented on with great joy.
The Archdiocese of Seoul has reached a historic milestone, entering the "era of 1,000 priests" 194 years after its establishment. This achievement is particularly noteworthy because many dioceses worldwide are facing declining vocations.
On February 7, 2025, the Archdiocese held a priestly ordination ceremony at Myeongdong Cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop. The ordination of 26 new priests, including one from Redemptoris Mater Seminary, increased the number of priests in the diocese to 1,000.
This milestone places the Archdiocese of Seoul among the dioceses with the highest number of priests worldwide, second only to the Archdiocese of Milan in Italy, which has around 1,700 priests. The achievement is especially significant as Seoul prepares to host World Youth Day in 2027.
The Korean Catholic Church currently has nearly 6,000 active priests. According to the "Statistics of the Catholic Church in Korea" released by the Bishops' Conference, there were 5,721 priests as of December 31, 2023. Since the ordination of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean priest, in 1845, the total number of ordained Korean priests has surpassed 7,000, reaching 7,019 as of March 1, 2024, according to the Korean Catholic Church Priest Directory.
The ordination ceremony also marked a significant milestone with the ordination of Fr. Kim Dong-jun, Korea's second and Asia's fourth deaf priest.
The newly ordained Fr. Kim Dong-jun is the one who marks this milestone, coming 18 years after Fr. Park Min-seo, who was ordained in 2007 as Asia's first deaf priest. Fr. Kim expressed his aspirations: "I want to serve both the deaf and non-deaf communities with the compassion and warmth of Jesus Christ, especially for the vulnerable." He will begin his first pastoral mission as the assistant priest at Ephata Parish, the Archdiocese's first parish for the hearing impaired. He will also serve as chaplain at Seoul Aehwa School.
During the ordination ceremony, Archbishop Chung emphasized in his homily, "As collaborators of the bishop, priests are called to be united with him in their priesthood and to serve God's people." He urged the new priests to "carry out the ministry of Christ the Priest with true love and unwavering joy." He also reminded them, "Remember that you have been chosen and appointed from among the people to do God's work for the people," and encouraged them to always take the Good Shepherd—who came not to be served but to serve, and sought the lost sheep to save them—as their model.
