Seoul Archdiocese Monsignor Kim Byung-do Who Protected Myeongdong Cathedral During the June 10 Uprising Passes Away

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Monsignor Kim Byung-do (baptismal name Francisco, ordained in ’61) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul passed away on the 24th due to old age. He was 86 years old.

According to the Archdiocese of Seoul, Monsignor Kim was born in 1935 in Yeongheung, Hamgyeongnam-do. He graduated from Catholic University in 1961 and was ordained as a priest. After serving six years as a Navy chaplain, he earned a master's degree in Educational Administration from Duquesne University in the United States.

From 1971, he served for 15 years as chief secretary and public relations officer to the then Archbishop of Seoul, the late Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan. Afterwards, he worked as president of a Catholic publishing company and devoted himself to pastoral work as the pastor of parishes in Myeongdong, Garak-dong, and Guui-dong in Seoul.

He is recognized as a living witness of history for protecting Myeongdong Cathedral, the stronghold of the June 10 Democratic Uprising, while serving as the diocesan chancellor and pastor of Myeongdong Cathedral in 1987.

Monsignor Kim established four communities for elderly people without family support: 'Clara’s House' in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi in 1991; 'Francisco’s House' in Gwangju, Gyeonggi in 1997; 'Monica’s House' in Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul in 1998; and 'Loving Virgin Mary’s House' in Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul in 2002.

In 2001, he was appointed Monsignor by Pope John Paul II. Monsignor is a title given to high-ranking clergy with great virtue in the Catholic Church. After retiring in 2010, Monsignor Kim served as a senior pastoral priest.

He was well known for pledging and practicing a life of poverty following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, his baptismal saint. The Archdiocese of Seoul reported that whenever he received material gifts, he donated them all to elderly people without family support.

His major translated works include You Are That Person, How to Pray, and a memoir commemorating the 40th anniversary of his ordination titled With the Flowing Years. The memoir contains stories of Monsignor Kim’s experiences during the 1970s military regime and his struggles for democratization alongside Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan and the late Bishop Ji Hak-soon.

The funeral wake is held at Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital Funeral Hall Room 1. The funeral mass will be offered on the 26th at 10 a.m. at Myeongdong Cathedral, jointly celebrated by Archbishop Yeom Soo-jung and the priesthood. The burial site is the clergy cemetery within the Catholic Yongin Park Cemetery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.