Pope Francis accepted Card Stella’s resignation because he reached the age of retirement, and Bishop Yu Heung-sik, the diocese of Daejeon, South Korea, took over as minister of the priesthood. As has been the case in the Holy See’s Liturgy and Sacramental Ministry, there was also an apostolic inspection before the shift of the upper-level priesthood.
(Vatican News Network) Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Beniamino Stella and appointed 69-year-old Bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik from the Diocese of Daejeon in South Korea as Minister of the Holy See Priesthood. The new minister knew Pope Francis and received the heir of Peter who visited South Korea in August 2014 in his diocese.
Bishop Yu Xingzhi was born in 1951. After he was ordained in the Diocese of Daejeon, he became the assistant bishop of the diocese in 2003. Two years later, he provoked the burden of leading the diocese. He is also the chairman of the Peace Promotion Committee of the Bishops’ Conference of South Korea and has visited North Korea four times.
Before appointing the South Korean bishop as minister of the priesthood, the pope has appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines as the minister of the Holy See’s Ministry of the Evangelization of the Peoples, which shows the pope’s concern for the Asian continent.
In addition, Egidio Miragoli, the bishop of Mondovío, Italy, wrote a letter to the priests of the diocese, stating that he was commissioned by the Pope to “inspect the Ministry of the Priesthood in the name of the Pope,” and has announced that the ministry will change its upper rank On the eve of the event. Earlier, after the acceptance of the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, Archbishop Claudio Maniago inspected the Ministry of Liturgy and Sacrament of the Holy See. From now on, this is likely to become a practice adopted by Pope Francis, and it will also apply when the heads of other ministries change shifts.
The appointment of the Minister of the Priesthood has been waiting for a long time, and the current Minister Cardinal Stella will turn 80 years old on August 18 this year. Stella served as the ambassador of the Holy See, and later the Dean of the Holy See Diplomatic Academy. In September 2013, a few months after Pope Francis was elected, he was appointed Minister of the Priesthood. Before the new minister took office, the Pope appointed Card Stella to “continue to be in charge” of the Priesthood.
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