The Archdiocese of Seoul announced that it has received authorization from the Vatican, or “nihil obstat,” to initiate the beatification cause of the priest who pioneered monastic life in Korea.
Oct 07, 2025

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. | Credit: Xosema (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Walter Sánchez Silva 
The Archdiocese of Seoul announced that it has received authorization from the Vatican, or “nihil obstat,” to initiate the beatification cause of the priest who pioneered monastic life in Korea.

According to the Vatican news agency Fides, Father Leo Bang Yu-ryong (1900–1986) will be recognized as a servant of God. With this permission, the archdiocese will be able to begin the diocesan phase of the process.

Auxiliary Bishop Job Koo Yoo-bi of Seoul, president of the diocesan commission for beatification and canonization, said that in this first phase, information and testimonies will be gathered about Bang Yu-ryong’s heroic virtues and reputation for holiness.
Life of the pioneer of monastic life in Korea
On Dec. 12, 1951, he received official approval of the congregation from the Holy See. On Oct. 30, 1953, he also founded the male congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, the first native male religious order in Korea.

In 1957, he established the third order of consecrated laymen with the same charism, and in 1962, he authorized the founding of the Society of the Sisters of the Palm of the Korean Martyrs for married and widowed women.

On May 6, 1957, Bang Yu-ryong made his perpetual vows in the congregation he founded and dedicated his entire life to consolidating his spiritual family. He died on Jan. 24, 1986.

2 other causes underway in the Archdiocese of Seoul
In addition to the cause of Bang Yu-ryong, the Archdiocese of Seoul is also pursuing the beatification of Bishop Barthelemy Bruguière (1792–1835), the first apostolic vicar of Korea and a member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society.

The other case is that of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922–2009), archbishop of Seoul from 1968 to 1998 and the first Korean cardinal.–CNA