The Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul announced on the 11th that its "Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity" has reached its 1,500th celebration after 31 years of weekly Tuesday offerings for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The 1,500th reconciliation mass was celebrated at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on the 10th, presided over by Archbishop Chung Soon-taick, chairman of the Archdiocese's Committee for National Reconciliation. Approximately 400 attendees included Papal Nuncio Archbishop Giovanni Gasparri, Archbishop Choi Chang-moo, the committee's founding chairman, and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (baptismal name David).
"Offering regular masses with a single intention for nearly 31 years is unprecedented in Korean Catholic history," Archbishop Chung said in his homily. "This demonstrates how crucial peace on the Korean Peninsula and reconciliation between North and South are for our nation."
On inter-Korean relations, he emphasized: "Efforts to understand and reconcile with the other side are by no means weak or unrealistic choices, but rather more courageous decisions. When we reflect on our own stubbornness and sense of superiority and see each other as brothers and neighbors, entrenched relationships can be transformed."
Minister Chung offered congratulatory remarks: "If North Korean youth could participate in the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul, it would mark a new turning point for peace on the Korean Peninsula. I hope this 1,500th mass becomes an opportunity for God's will to be realized on this land—transforming hatred into love, discord into reconciliation, and division into unity."
The Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity began on March 7, 1995, when the late Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan celebrated the first service. It has been offered every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Myeongdong Cathedral ever since. Notably, the Prayer of St. Francis for Peace is offered simultaneously at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul and Changchung Cathedral in Pyongyang every Tuesday evening, following an agreement reached on August 15, 1995, between the Archdiocese's Committee for National Reconciliation and the Korean Catholic Association, North Korea's official Catholic organization.