DPN 372 Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Daegu Priory, KOREA February 2014

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1 DAEGU PRIORY NEWSLETTER DPN 372 Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Daegu Priory, KOREA February (Illustration by Sr. Eun-Hye Cha)

2 Sisters in harmony Monday, Feb. 10: Five Sisters professed their perpetual vows during a High Mass celebration of St. Scholastica s Feast day on Monday, Feb. 10, at 11:00 o clock. More than 700 guests were invited to this celebration including family members, acquaintances and friends. Most. Rev. Thaddeus Cho, Archbishop of Daegu Diocese presided over the celebration along with 38 priests. Hearing the call of God, the Sisters entered as candidates to the Missionary Benedictine Congregation in 2004 to seek God and after 10 years of perseverance in stability, conversatio morum and obedience, they felt free to surrender wholeheartedly to God in religious life. They were: Sr. Pauline Park from Cheongju Diocese, Sr. Haeseong Kim, Sr. Josephine Jeon and Sr. Stephanie Park from Daegu Archdiocese, and Sr. Fransoa Lee from Busan Diocese. 2 Sunday, Feb. 9: Novice Rosaria Kim made her first profession in the presence of the community on Sunday morning, Feb. 9. By doing so, she was incorporated into our Congregation to follow Christ in religious community according to the Rule of St. Benedict. From now on, you will be called Sister Vincentia Kim OSB, announced Mother Lumen Choi, during the Rite of First Profession. She will conclude her theological course at Theological Institute of Daegu Catholic University and take part in ministry. Saturday, Feb. 8: A rite of initiation to the Novitiate took place in the Chapter room on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 5:30 p.m. for Postulants, Julia Lee and Agnes Ahn. They received a copy of the Constitutions and promised to keep seeking God in community. The rite was concluded with the kiss of peace from Mother Lumen Choi and the community.

3 Sunday, Feb. 2: The celebration of the day of Consecrated Life began with the traditional candlelight procession on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the corridor of the chapel of the Priory House. All Sisters and formandees gathered to consecrate their lives to Christ on this special day. Pope Francis reminded all religious of the beauty and the value of consecrated life as the reflection of Christ s light. Monday, Feb. 10: More than 70 Sisters were appointed to new assignments on the Solemnitas of St. Scholastica, Feb. 10 evening. Among them were nine new superiors of local communities. The schedule of the installations will be posted on the board. Comings & Goings Saturday, Feb. 8: Arrival of Sr. Mary Benedict Lim from Roma, Italy. Friday, Feb. 21: Departure of junior Sisters, Chris Gu, Paulo Seo and Marie Luca to the Phillippines for mission exposure. Prayer Requests for the Following Deceased Relatives: Ignatio Kim, Sr. Sabina Kim s father, died at the age of 76 on February 17. JeongLim Shin, Sr. Genovefa s sister died at the age of 61 on February 17. Angela Seo, Sr. Isaac s mother died at the age of 86 on February 24. Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen. Apostolate News Sunday, Feb. 12: In commemoration of the World Day of the Sick, Daegu Fatima Hospital hosted a concert in a way to remember and to offer prayers to those suffering from illness at the Link Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 12. On the stage, Hope music ensemble performed various kinds of music from popular song to classic music with instruments, piano, violin, flute and cello. Everyone enjoyed the charity performance with great enthusiasm. 3

4 Sunday - Saturday, Feb : In an effort to strengthen Inter-priory sharing, Changwon Fatima Hospital decided to provide handson assistance to the communities affected by typhoons in late Linking up between Sr. Sarah, C.E.O. of Divine Word Hospital in Tacloban, Philippines and Sr. Vianney Park, C.E.O. of Changwon Fatima Hospital in Changwon, South Korea, a group of doctors, nurses, social workers and volunteers of Changwon Fatima Hospital set out for Tacloban on Sunday, February 16 to run a 4-day Free Medical Assistance programme. Around 1,250 patients received proper treatment with free medication. On the last day, each member received a medal and a thanksgiving certificate for their service. A little bit of knowledge from one of our pioneers May 22, 1882 June 15, 1901 November 21, 1925 July 7, 1927 August 1, 1933 August 1947 October Born in Friedingen, Germany Enter the Convent of MBS in St. Ottilien, Germany Sent to the New Korean Mission in Wonsan, Korea as Superior Appointed as the 1st Prioress of the New Wonsan Priory Elected as the 4 th Mother General of MBS at Tutzing General Chapter Appointed as the Norfolk Priory Prioress at Norfolk, USA Died in Lynch, Norfolk Priory, USA 4

5 The first pioneers for Korean mission were four, and Sr. Mathilde Hirsch was their leader and the new convent Superior. After a long sea voyage, they arrived at Busan seaport at 7:00 a.m. on November 18, Bishop Bonifacius Shin was there to welcome them. Immediately they boarded the north bound train for Seoul and arrived at Seoul in the evening, the same day, when the evening Angelus bell was ringing quietly from the Seoul Cathedral. The Sisters found a temporary lodging at the Convent of St. Paul de Chartres beside the Cathedral. There they listened to some of the Korean mission conditions/situations and they also visited some mission places near Seoul. They spent three days learning and visiting and at 8:00 a.m. on November 21, 1925, they boarded the train to Wonsan and arrived at Wonsan, their mission place, at 4:00 p.m., the same day. Sr. Mathilde acted as their local Superior from 1925 to As Wonsan Convent was elevated to a Priory in 1927, she was appointed as its first Prioress. Sr. Mathilde s zeal for mission was well known throughout the entire Wonsan Diocese as well as the far-reaching regions beyond the Diocese toward Manjuria. In the Community she was a kindhearted and considerate but strict mother. Thus, she firmly laid the foundation and cornerstone of the new Priory amidst lots of difficulties. As soon as they arrived at Wonsan, the candidates who desired religious life visited the Sisters. Two months after their arrival they accepted some candidates and began to educate them although they didn t have enough rooms for them. As the Superior of the house and the mistress of the candidates/postulants/novices, she was very busy. Also, it was not very easy to adjust at this totally different culture and circumstances. The Korean food was not agreeable to some Sisters. Two Sisters, out of malnutrition because they couldn t eat the local food, were diagnosed as TB patients and shipped to Manila Priory in the Philippines to be cured. These Sisters couldn t return to Korea but died young. She visited the mission places of the Benedictine Fathers/Brothers who were there before her group for information but she didn t imitate everything what they were doing. She tried to find the mission ways and means to fit to the people of the land and culture. She thought much of the people and culture of this land. Accordingly she projected her plans to proclaim the Word of God to fit to the culture and people of this land. (to be continued in the next edition) -Sr. Veronica Lee- Responsible for Daegu Priory Archives (Translated by Sr. Maria Paul Sung) that in all things God may be glorified (Pt 4,11) Newsletter: osb_news@hanmail.net Homepage: 5