SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A statue of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846), the first Korean native Catholic priest, was erected at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Tuesday (local time).
The statue was installed by the outer wall of St. Peter’s Basilica, adjacent to the entrance to the Vatican Grottoes, where most former Popes are buried.
This marks the first occasion where a statue of an oriental saint has been placed outside the walls of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The installation of the statue came after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea requested and received approval from Pope Francis to commemorate the saint’s 200th birthday.
Sculptor Han Jin-seop, who majored in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, Italy, created the work, sponsored by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
The consecration ceremony to celebrate the installation of the statue will take place on Sept. 16 at St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by South Korean cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, following a Thanksgiving mass.
Image Credit: Yonhap / Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea / photonews@koreabizwire.com
