Pope’s visit to South Korea in August

March 10, 2013 - Pope Francis has accepted the invitation of South Korean president Park Geun-Hye and the country’s bishops, and will visit the nation August 14-18 this year, on the occasion of the Asian World Youth Day. “Welcoming the invitation of the President of the Republic and the Korean bishops, His Holiness Francis will make an Apostolic Trip to the Republic of Korea from 14 to 18 August 2014, on the occasion of the Sixth Asian Youth Day, to be held in the Diocese of Daejeon,” said a communique of the Holy See’s Press Office on Monday. On Feb.22, the Argentine Pope honoured the Asian nation by raising Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul to the rank of cardinal. Earlier on Feb. 7, the Pontiff recognized the martyrdom of 124 Catholics who were killed during widespread persecution in Korea in the 18th through 19th centuries. They are likely to be beatified by the Pope during the 5-day pastoral visit. Pope John Paul II had visited South Korea twice – first in May, 1984 and then in October, 1989. According to Church statistics South Korea has 5.22 million Catholics, the fifth-largest among Asian countries. The August visit will be Pope Francis’ second foreign visit this year after his Holy Land visit in May to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories in May.