The Archdiocese of Seoul recently announced that the Vatican gave its approval, or "nihil obstat," for the beatification cause for Fr. Leo Bang Yu-ryong, a priest who established monastic life in Korea.
This means that the beatification cause can move forward and that Fr. Bang Yu-ryong can be referred to as a "Servant of God."
Fr. Bang Yu-ryong's life will now be more thoroughly examined to determine whether he lived a life of heroic virtue. Once that has been established, he can be referred to as "Venerable."
Who was Fr. Bang Yu-ryong?
Fr. Bang Yu-ryong was born in 1900 into a Catholic family. He witnessed early on persecution of Christians in Korea. Despite this persecution, Bang Yu-ryong stayed faithful to Catholicism and was drawn to the priesthood.
According to Agenzia Fides, "In 1917, he entered the seminary with the intention of becoming a priest. During his time at the Minor Seminary in Yongsan, reading devotional books and visiting monasteries sparked in him a personal attraction and vision of the necessity of monastic life for the local Church."
Initially he was ordained to be a diocesan priest, and served as an associate pastor of Chuncheon Parish, Gangwon Province.
During these early years of his priesthood he longed to be a religious priest, but only foreign monasteries were present in the country.
He felt "the need for a religious congregation that would reflect the Korean spirit and mentality, believing that the most effective way to spread the Catholic faith in Korea was through the Korean language and worldview."
He eventually founded the first woman's religious congregation in Korea in 1946, named the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs. They wore traditional Korean garments, and in 1953, he was able to establish a male counterpart. He later established a third order for lay people as well.
Bang Yu-ryong fulfilled his dream of becoming a religious priest in 1957, transitioning from a diocesan priest to a religious priest, professing perpetual vows in his newly founded congregation.
He spent the rest of his life dedicated to fostering vocations to these local religious orders and died on January 24, 1986.
