Archbishop Victorinus Yoon Gong-hi is seen with altar servers during a Mass in Archdiocese of Gwangju in South Korea on Aug. 27. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)
By UCA News reporter
Sep 1 2022
Archbishop Victorinus Yoon Gong-hi is among the last Koreans with memories of the Catholic Church in North Korea.
Some 24 South Korean bishops joined priests, religious, and laypeople to make good wishes in advance to Archbishop Victorinus Yoon Gong-hi, the former archbishop of Gwangju and the country’s eldest bishop who turns 99 in November.
A special Mass and thanksgiving ceremony was held at Yeomju-dong Cathedral in Gwangju on Aug. 27, reported Catholic Times of Korea.
Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong concelebrated the Mass at Yeomju-dong Cathedral in Gwangju. The participants thanked God for the life of Archbishop Yoon, prayed for his good health and promised to follow the great example of his life.
At the Mass, a video on the life of Archbishop Yoon was played that documented his life from an early age to today.
During the thanksgiving program, Bishop Basil Cho Kyu-man of Wonju, vice-president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK), delivered his congratulatory remarks to Archbishop Yoon on behalf of CBCK president Bishop Matthias Ri Iong-hoon, who was in the Vatican to attend the consistory that created 20 new cardinals including South Korean Lazarus You Heung-sik.
Bishop Cho said the senior clergyman has shown remarkable zeal and skills in evangelization and pastoral services for the Church in Korea.
Michael Yoon Kwan-sik, president of the Lay Apostolic Council of Gwangju Archdiocese hailed Archbishop Yoon for being an inspiration for many years.
“Today is a day the Lord has prepared,” he said. “We pray so you are with us for a long time.”
Priests and the women’s committee of the archdiocese delivered flower baskets and spiritual gifts to Archbishop Yoon in prayer for spiritual and physical health.
Father Andrew Ahn Se-hwan spoke on behalf of the priests and recalled that he was the last priest ordained by Archbishop Yoon before he retired in 2000.
“Archbishop (Yoon) is a senior faithful whom we can see, learn, believe and depend on, and he has always been there for us,” he said.
Archbishop Yoon smiled and repeatedly thanked all as congratulatory remarks poured in
“I hope that I can leave the past to God’s mercy and the future to God’s providence, and live in God’s will in every moment, believing and grateful for God’s love,” Archbishop Yoon said in his speech.
Archbishop Yoon is among the last Koreans who still have memories of a united Korea before it split into two and the deadly Korean War (1949-53) that left millions killed and displaced in the Korean Peninsula.
A recently published book based on his interviews put the spotlight on the Catholic Church in North Korea before the communist takeover that led to persecution, killing, and expulsion of Catholics.
Yoon was born on Nov. 8, 1924, at Jinnampo of Hwanghae, now part of North Korea. He entered Tokwon Theological Seminary with the intention to become a priest one day.
Tokwon abbey and the seminary, both established by German Benedictines, were taken over by the Communist forces and some monks were killed and others were driven out, Archbishop Yoon recalled in the book, the Story of the North Korean Church.
He recalled how Catholic clergy, religious, and laypeople were gripped by fear the war broke out in 1949 and as the communist forces attacked churches.
Yoon along with fellow major seminarian Daniel Soun Tji Hak (later bishop) fled to the South and reached Seoul on Jan. 17, 1950.
He was ordained a priest on March 20, 1950. He served as the chaplain in UN camps for war refugees in Busan and also taught in two schools.
Father Yoon studied Sacred Theology in Rome at Pontifical Urbaniana University and Pontifical Gregorian University from 1957 to 1960.
In 1963, he became the first bishop of the Suwon Diocese. He was appointed archbishop of Gwangju in 1973 and served until 2000. He also served as the chairman of Gwangju Catholic University from 1973 to 2010.
He was the president of the CBCK from 1975 to 1981. – UCA News
