SW News: Archbishop of Seoul Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung has announced on Thursday, October 28, that Auxiliary Bishop Mgr. Peter Chung Soon-Taick OCD will be his successor. The cardinal read out the decree during Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Myeong-dong.

Mon. Peter will also be the Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang. During the homily, Cardinal Yeom hailed his successor, Mgr. Peter, and said, "I am very grateful for the great gift that the Holy Spirit has sent to our Archdiocese and to the whole Church in Korea. I pray that Archbishop Peter Chung will have the grace of being guided by the Holy Spirit during the diocesan synodal process."

In his message to the believers in Seoul, Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea Archbishop Alfred Xuereb promised the new archbishop his prayers, support and invocation of God's blessings over him. Archbishop Chung, Cardinal Yeom, all auxiliary Bishops, clergy, and faithful also implored for the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, who is the patroness of South Korea.

During the ceremony, Archbishop Peter said, "Christ Jesus is beyond the reach of men. We absolutely cannot imagine his plans because they always go far beyond our thoughts. Today I am full of apprehension. With the help of prayers, I will try to follow in the footsteps of my extraordinary predecessors."

His inauguration Mass will take place on December 8, in Seoul, on the feast day of Mary Immaculate.

Archbishop-elect Mgr. Peter was born on August 5, 1961, in Daegu, Korea. After completing his studies at the Seoul National University, he joined the seminary at the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul for priestly formation. In 1992, he took his perpetual vows in the order of Discalced Carmelites and studied biblical theology at the Graduate School of the Catholic University of Korea. On July 16, the same year, he received ordination. After his higher studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Fr. Peter was appointed General Definitor of the Order of Discalced Carmelites for the Far East and Oceania in 2009.

The Holy Father Pope Francis made him Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul on December 30, 2013. The following year, he was made Episcopal Vicar for the western region and for the religious and young people of the Archdiocese of Seoul. He also headed the Commission for Youth Ministry in the Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK) the same year.