Korea's Fourth Cardinal Born... Cardinal Yu Heung-sik's Ordination Ceremony Today

Yoo Heung-sik Lazarus, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Lazarus Yuh Heung-sik (70), Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, will become the fourth Korean cardinal.

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals, including Cardinal Yuh, will be held on the 27th at 4 p.m. local time (11 p.m. Korean time) at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, presided over by Pope Francis.

Korean cardinals include the late Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922?2009), Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk (1931?2021), Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (78), and now Cardinal Yuh, making him the fourth.

Born in 1951 in Nonsan, Chungnam, Cardinal Yuh was ordained a priest in 1979 while studying in Rome. In 1983, he earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Lateran University in Rome.

He served as a professor and president at Daejeon Catholic University, was ordained auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Daejeon in 2003, and became bishop of the Diocese of Daejeon in 2005.

In June last year, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, overseeing the duties and lives of priests and deacons worldwide and the formation of seminarians, and was elevated to archbishop.

This is the first time in the history of the Korean Catholic Church and the Vatican that a Korean cleric has been appointed as a prefect.

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung will attend the consistory as a member of the College of Cardinals.

Along with Lee Yong-hoon, chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Jung Soon-taek, Archbishop of Seoul, and Kim Jong-su, Bishop of Daejeon, a domestic Catholic faithful pilgrimage delegation will also be present.

A government delegation led by First Vice Minister Jeon Byung-guk will attend the consistory in the Vatican and deliver a congratulatory letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol to Pope Francis.

Meanwhile, at this consistory, 20 new cardinals including Cardinal Yuh will be created, bringing the total number of cardinals worldwide to 226.

Cardinals, the highest-ranking clergy in the Catholic Church, hold their position for life, but only those under 80 years old have the right to elect the pope.

With this consistory, the number of cardinals eligible to elect the pope will be 132.

Europe has the largest number with 53, followed by Asia (21), Africa (17), North America (16), South America (15), Central America (7), and Oceania (3).

Korea will have two cardinals, Andrew Yeom Soo-jung and Lazarus Yuh Heung-sik, eligible to participate in future papal conclaves.