Vatican Greenlights Beatification Process for Korean Monastic Pioneer
Seoul, South Korea – The Vatican has officially approved the opening of the cause for beatification of Father Bang Yu-ryong, a Korean priest credited with establishing the first native religious orders for men and women in the country. The announcement signals a notable step toward potential sainthood for the priest who profoundly shaped Korean Catholic monastic life.
Born March 6, 1900, Father Bang Yu-ryong dedicated his life to fostering a uniquely Korean expression of religious life within the Catholic Church. Ordained in 1930,he served as a parish priest in Hwanghae Province from 1933,where he implemented progressive pastoral changes,including ending the segregation of boys and girls in church,introducing the first organ,and establishing a youth choir.
Following Korean independence from Japanese rule in 1946, and coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Andrew Kim, Father Bang Yu-ryong, alongside two religious sisters, founded the Sisters of the Blessed korean Martyrs – the first Korean women’s congregation. He envisioned the order embodying the spirit of the Korean martyrs, whom he called “ancestors in the faith,” with a charism focused on “spreading the Gospel in a spirit of fraternal love and martyrdom, for the glory of God and the sanctification of it’s members.”
Official approval from the Holy See for the Sisters’ congregation came on December 12,1951. Father Bang Yu-ryong continued his work, founding the male congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs on October 30, 1953, marking the first native male religious order in Korea. He further expanded opportunities for consecrated life by establishing a third order for laymen in 1957 and the Society of the Sisters of the Palm of the Korean Martyrs for married and widowed women in 1962.
father Bang Yu-ryong professed perpetual vows in the congregation he founded on May 6, 1957, and devoted the remainder of his life to strengthening his spiritual family. He passed away on January 24, 1986.
The Archdiocese of Seoul is concurrently pursuing the beatification of Bishop Barthelemy Bruguière, the first apostolic vicar of Korea, and Cardinal Stephen Kim sou-hwan, the first Korean cardinal. These efforts reflect a growing movement to recognize the contributions of key figures in the development of the Catholic Church in Korea.
