Korea, the First Asian Country Visited After His Election
Communicated with Presidents Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in
Passed Away Before His Planned Return Visit in 2027
Pope Francis, who passed away on the 21st (local time), had shown great interest in Korea during his lifetime. Korea was the first Asian country he visited after his election as pope, and he appointed two Korean cardinals. He had planned to visit Korea again for World Youth Day (WYD), which is scheduled to be held in Seoul the year after next, but this ultimately did not come to pass.
Pope Francis was the second pope in history to visit Korea. He visited Korea from August 14 to 18, 2014, for a five-day, four-night stay. This was his third overseas trip after his election as pope.
Pope Francis visited the Mediterranean island nation of Malta for a two-day trip on April 2, 2022 (local time) and blessed the faithful in front of the Ta'Pinu Basilica on the island of Gozo. Photo by Yonhap News
His first overseas trip was to Brazil in 2013, a visit promised during the papacy of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. The second was a tour of Jordan, Palestine, and Israel in March of the following year. Korea was the first Asian country he visited, which underscores how special Korea was to him.
During his visit to Korea, Pope Francis comforted the families of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster and met with those who were suffering or marginalized, including survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. Earlier this year, when wildfires caused significant damage mainly in the North Gyeongsang region, he also expressed his condolences.
Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Vatican, sent a telegram to the Korean Catholic Church and government authorities on March 28 (local time), stating, "(The Pope) is deeply concerned about the threats to life and the damage caused by wildfires that have occurred in various regions of Korea."
Pope Francis appointed two of the four Korean cardinals in history: Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (appointed in 2014, age 82) and Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik (appointed in 2022, age 74).
In particular, Cardinal You Heung-sik was appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy in June 2021 while serving as Bishop of Daejeon. At that time, Pope Francis promoted him to archbishop when he appointed him as prefect, which was an unprecedented move. This demonstrates his special interest in Korea.
Pope Francis also selected Seoul as the next host city for WYD, the global Catholic festival for young people. Korea was chosen as the second Asian country to host WYD, following the Philippines in 1995.
If a pope had visited Korea again, thirteen years after the visits by John Paul II in 1984 and 1989 and by Francis in 2014, it would have been an opportunity to elevate Korea's standing in the international community. However, this will now be left to his successor.
Pope Francis also communicated frequently with Korean presidents.
During his visit to Korea in August 2014, he was received at the airport by President Park Geun-hye and held talks at the Blue House. Former President Moon Jae-in, a Catholic, visited the Vatican twice?in October 2018 and October 2021?to meet Pope Francis.
Pope Francis and President Moon held a 55-minute meeting, which was significantly longer than the approximately 30-minute meeting the pope had previously held with U.S. President Donald Trump. In the case of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, there was no direct meeting, but they communicated through letters.
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