Seoul archdiocese in South Korea has officially launched the cause of canonization for three prominent Catholic clergymen including a French missionary bishop and the first Korean cardinal.

The Archdiocesan Committee for Beatification and Canonization finalized the decision to pursue the canonization of Bishop Barthelemy Bruguiere, Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Father Leo Bang Yoo-ryong, archdiocesan website Good News reported on March 28.

Bruguiere (1792-1835) from the Paris Foreign Mission Society was the first apostolic vicar of Korea, Kim (1922-2009) was archbishop of Seoul from 1968-1998 and Bang (1900-1986) was the founder of Korea’s first native religious order, the Clerical Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs.

During the meeting led by Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek on March 23, auxiliary Bishop Job Koo Yo-bi of Seoul was appointed the chairman of the committee to pursue canonization for the candidates.

Father Joseph Park Sun-Yong, the vice-chairman, was entrusted with the responsibility of a petitioner with the authority to interact with the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and other ecclesiastical judges.

Kim is widely regarded as a Catholic and public hero who led the Church in South Korea through one of its toughest times.

Stephen Kim Sou-hwan was born in 1922 and ordained a priest in 1951. He studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Jochi Daigaku in Tokyo and sociology at Munster University in Germany.

He became bishop of Masan diocese in 1966 and archbishop of Seoul in 1968. Pope Paul VI elevated him to the position of a cardinal in 1969.

He is credited for intensified evangelization efforts in Seoul and worked wholeheartedly towards implementing the spirit of Vatican II with lay participation.

He prioritized interfaith dialogue and the coordination of shared humanitarian and charitable efforts during his time as the Seoul archbishop.

He was president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea from 1973 to 1977 and president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) from 1974 to 1977.

Kim is hailed for leading and strengthening the Korean Church amid various trials and tribulations including political turmoil under military regimes.

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