South Korea – 10th anniversary celebrations of death of Fr John Lee, SDB

16 January 2020
South Korea – 10th anniversary celebrations of death of Fr John Lee, SDB

(ANS – Seoul) – Ten years since his death, the first celebrations have been held in honor of Fr John Lee, the "Don Bosco of Tonj" (South Sudan). The Eucharist on the 10th anniversary of Fr John Lee 's death (1962-2010) was celebrated in the Salesian High School, Gwangju, on 12 January at 11 am, with the Archbishop of Gwangju, Higino KIM Hee-jung (Don Bosco Past Pupil), as the main celebrant. Also, on the 14th (death anniversary date), the Salesian community in Tonj - South Sudan offered its memorial Mass for Father Lee; on the same day, the “Fr Tae-Seok Lee Memorial Hall” was opened in Busan City, Seo-gu Ward.

Concelebrating at the Mass in Gwangju were Gwangju Auxiliary Bishop Simon Ok Hyun-jin, Daejon Bishop Lazaro YOO Hong-shik, and twenty other Salesian and diocesan priests.

The Eucharist saw the involvement of some 400 Catholic, Protestant and Buddhist faithful who came together from all corners of South Korea in order to remember the Salesian Missionary and continue his legacy to serve the poor and share the Gospel.

In his homily, Archbishop Kim Hee-jung emphasized, “Imitate the love and spirit of sharing, witnessed by Father Lee Tae-Seok, who dedicated his life to his poorest neighbour after the example of Jesus.” In particular, John Mayen (Inje University Medical School), a former student of Fr Lee Tae-Seok, who studied abroad in South Sudanese Tonj, also attended, presenting a memorial service to Fr Lee Tae-Seok and his appreciation for him. John Mayen will soon be an intern doctor. After Mass, participants visited the Damyang Catholic cemetery and offered prayers at Fr John Lee's grave.

Fr Lee Tae-Seok had been sent to Tonj in South Sudan in June 2001 as a Salesian missionary. While dreaming of friends, educators, doctors, and priests for young people and poor neighbours of Tonj, he returned on a usual family visit to Korea in November 2008, and received a medical check-up. He was diagnosed with late stage colorectal cancer and died on 14 January 2010 at Seoul's St Mary's Hospital. 

The memorial hall honoring Fr John Lee, celebrating Don Bosco in South Sudan, was opened in his hometown of Busan metropolitan city on 14 January 2020.

In the afternoon, Busan Seo-gu Office said that the opening ceremony was held at the Memorial Hall of Fr John Lee, located behind his birthplace.

More than 300 people attended the event, including Gong Han-soo (Chief of Busan Seo-gu Office), Oh Geo-don (Mayor of Busan), Busan's Catholic Bishop Joseph Son Sam-seok, and Fr Timothy Choi Won-cheol, SDB, Provincial of Korea.

The memorial hall is a four-store building. It consists of a café on the ground floor, a program room and office on the second floor, a memorial hall on the third floor, and a multi-purpose hall on the fourth. The memorial hall on the third floor displays some 60 relics that reveal Fr Lee’s holy life and a number of three-dimensional models on his dedicated life in Sudan’s Tonj. It plans to introduce other artifacts in turn through special exhibitions in the future.

The management of the entire memorial hall is conducted by the Salesian society of South Korea. The Korean Province states, “We will carry out various activities to inherit and spread the three spirits of Father John Lee: Service, Joy, and Sharing.”

“The Cafe Friends” on the first floor will be used as a place to help the disadvantaged youth, by saving some of its profits and to support the self-reliance of the youth who dream of being “a chef.”

By Fr Samuel Yoo Myeong-il and KOR Social Communication Office

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