“May you rest in the arms of the Lord, and I prayed that you wouldn’t be in pain and be happy.”
On the afternoon of the 22nd at 3:30 PM, Kim Jae-hyun (29) said after coming out of the incense altar set up in the underground cathedral of Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul. Despite the continuous rain, there was a steady stream of believers coming to pay their last respects to the Pope. Some who visited the cathedral in the morning had to leave after hearing that the official incense altar would open at 3 PM. In addition to Myeongdong Cathedral, an official incense altar was also set up at the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Korea, located in Gungjeong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
In front of the incense altar at Myeongdong Cathedral, about 150 people queued up. They could exchange brief greetings or participate in a 40-minute mass. The first attendee said, “I held my spot three hours before the altar opened.” There were people standing at the exit crying, and others who came with their mothers and children. Mr. Park (23), who came from Daegu, said, “I prayed for him to rest in peace.” A believer who met the Pope at Gwanghwamun Square in 2014 was also present. Mr. Gil (70) from Jung-gu, Seoul, holding a worn-out rosary, said, “I heard the news on SNS yesterday, but thought it was fake news,” and added, “I can’t tell you how much I cried after seeing the news reports,” with teary eyes. Mr. Park (55), who attended the 7 AM mass that day, said, “I prayed for a good person to be elected who will follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who cared for the poor and powerless and upheld the truth of the faith.”
At the Myeongdong Cathedral incense altar, Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop Jeong Sun-taek, Bishop Koo Yo-bee, Bishop Lee Kyung-sang, and Bishop Lee Yong-hoon, Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, offered their condolences. The Bishops’ Conference held an executive meeting on the 22nd and decided not to hold an official memorial mass at the conference level in Korea, but allowed each diocese to set the date and location for memorial masses at their discretion. Separately, the Bishops’ Conference noted that each diocese could set up an incense altar in the cathedral at their discretion.