Park Soo-hyun, the South Chungcheong governor, attended a Mass celebrated by Cardinal You Heung-sik on the 12th at Haemi International Sanctuary in Seosan and asked the cardinal to help arrange a visit to South Chungcheong by Pope Leo XIV during next year's World Youth Day (WYD).
The Mass was held as Cardinal You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, returned home for summer vacation. In addition to the governor, Heo Tae-jeong, the Daejeon mayor, Lee Won-taeg, the North Jeolla governor, lawmaker Seong Il-jong, and about 700 believers attended.
Cardinal You, who served as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Daejeon from 2005 to 2021, was appointed Minister of the Dicastery for the Clergy in June 2021, the first Korean to do so.
In a meeting, the governor said, "Catholic holy sites in South Chungcheong, including Haemi International Sanctuary, are the roots of the Korean Church's faith and pilgrimage hubs visited by Catholics worldwide," adding, "I sincerely hope we can welcome the pope in South Chungcheong together with young pilgrims gathering from around the world during WYD."
Haemi International Sanctuary is where more than 1,000 believers were martyred during the late Joseon–era persecution of Catholics. In 2020, the Holy See approved it as Korea's first standalone international sanctuary.
This site, in particular, is drawing attention as a major domestic pilgrimage destination that global Catholic youth will visit during next year's WYD. World Youth Day will run for 11 days from July 29 next year, divided into diocesan events and the main event in Seoul.
Haemi International Sanctuary hosted the closing Mass of the Asian Youth Day in 2014, celebrated by the late former Pope Francis.
Ahead of next year's World Youth Day, the province has completed or is pursuing a 22.5 billion won project to build infrastructure for pilgrimage and cultural exchanges.