“The Sunday Mass of May 17, 2026, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, was for me a very special moment, lived at the Parish of Duckmyoungdong (덕명동 성당), in the Diocese of Daejeon, South Korea. It is a community deeply linked to my vocational journey: there I made my Perpetual Profession, lived the period of my diaconate, and subsequently carried out priestly ministry every weekend for three years, before departing for Rome,” explains Fr. Geoffrey Boriga, IMC, a Consolata missionary and biblical scholar who collaborates with our website in the section dedicated to commentaries on the Sunday readings.
“I returned to greet and thank the faithful of the community, who welcomed me with great affection and with a vivid memory of the journey we shared,” said the Kenyan missionary, who has been working in South Korea for over six years.
“If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither” (Ps 137). Today I dare to make this prayer of the psalmist my own: If I were ever to forget the parish community of Duckmyoung-dong, may my hands wither.
The reason I dare to say these words is simple: it is precisely here that I grew up.
When I first arrived in this community, even pronouncing a simple sentence in Korean was difficult for me. Yet you welcomed me with patience and became my teachers. Thanks to your hearts, your warm welcome, your smiles and your constant encouragement, little by little I was able to find my place in the reality of Korea.
Before coming to Korea, I knew very little about Korean culture. But this parish became for me a true school of culture and, at the same time, an authentic spiritual home. Here I learned to know Korea and also the way in which the Church lives in this land.
When I was here with you, I lacked nothing. I never felt like a stranger, but was welcomed with the warmth and the peace of one who feels truly at home.
* Communications Office, with information from Fr. Geoffrey Boriga, IMC
