Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (; May 8, 1922 – February 16, 2009) was a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the Korea's first elevated to the rank of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

. He is a former

archbishop of Seoul The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis'', ) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan area of Seoul, South Korea, whose province comprises pa ...

, South Korea. Having been an iconic figure in South Korea's bloody and tumultuous transition from military rule to democracy, he was widely respected across all sections in South Korean society. He is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

having been declared

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Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Early years

He was born in

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, modern-day South Korea, and attended high school in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. He studied philosophy at

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

in Tokyo from 1941 to 1944, and at

Catholic University of Korea The Catholic University of Korea () is a private Roman Catholic university in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was established in 1855. The Catholic University of Korea operates campuses in Seoul and in the neighboring Bucheon. The uni ...

in Seoul from 1947 to 1951, when he graduated. After serving briefly as a parish priest in

Andong Andong () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong Ri ...

and then as a secretary in the

Archdiocese of Daegu The Archdiocese of Daegu (previously known as Taiku or Taegu) is a particular church of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Daegu, whose seat is at Kyesan Cathedral in Daegu, is Metropolitan bishop for the Dioceses of Andon ...

, he traveled to Germany to study sociology at

Münster University Münster (; ) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state district capital. ...

from 1956 to 1963.

Career

Kim was raised to the rank of cardinal-priest of '' San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle'' by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of April 28, 1969, having become the archbishop of Seoul in 1968 after being the

bishop of Masan This page lists the bishops of Masan. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masan was created in 1966 by Pope Paul VI. It is suffragan to Archdiocese of Taegu. Bishops of Masan *Stephen Kim Sou-hwan Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim S ...

since 1966. At the age of 46, he was the youngest member of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

at that time. He received the Mugunghwa medal in 1970, and participated in the two

conclaves A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

of 1978. During

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

and his successor's military dictatorship of the '70s and the '80s, the Korean Catholic Church under Kim's leadership was highlighted as a focal point of South Korea's democratization movement. In 1998, Cardinal Kim retired as the archbishop of Seoul, shortly after serving as president-delegate of the Special Assembly for Asia of the World Synod of Bishops. On the death of

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in 2004, he became the senior member of the college in terms of service, as he was the first of the three surviving members elevated in 1969 on the list of that consistory. However, Kim was ill at the time, and in the ceremonies of the

sede vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

on the death of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, the duties of ''

protopresbyter A ''protoiereus'' (from , "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας), or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a larger church. The title is roughly equiv ...

'' (senior

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

) were instead carried out by Eugenio de Araujo Sales, another 1969 cardinal who was Kim's junior as cardinal but senior as a priest and as a bishop. Having reached the age of 80 in 2002, he did not participate in the ensuing conclave as he was no longer eligible to vote in papal elections. Cardinal Kim did arrive for the

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and there he did discharge the duties of the cardinal ''protopresbyter''.

Death

From 2007, Kim's health gradually deteriorated, and he was seldom seen in public, the last time being the 2008 Christmas Midnight Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral. He died in Seoul on February 16, 2009, from respiratory problems. During a four-day lying in state period some 400,000 Catholic mourners were said to have filed past his coffin in the city's Myeongdong Cathedral. He was buried on February 20. As per his will, he donated his organs, and the Cardinal's eyes were quickly used in two successful cornea transplants.

Cause of beatification and canonization

On 5 July 2024, the Archdiocese of Seoul confirmed that the

Dicastery for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

approved the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

and

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

process of Cardinal Kim, who is now called a

Written

* 이 땅에 평화를 - 김수환 추기경과의 대화, 1988 * 참으로 사람답게 살기위하여 - 김수환 추기경의 세상 사는 이야기 (사람과 사람, 1998) * 우리가 서로 사랑한다는 것, 1999 * 너희와 모든 이를 위하여, 1999

References

* *

External links

*
Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Stephen Sou-hwan 1922 births 2009 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Seoul Servants of God Venerated Catholics South Korean Roman Catholic archbishops People from Daegu South Korean cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in South Korea Sangji University alumni Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Gwangsan Kim clan Roman Catholic bishops of Pyongyang Roman Catholic bishops of Masan Respiratory disease deaths in South Korea