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  6 January 2015

Quinquennium Formation for the KOR and GIA Confreres

In Tokyo last year, from Dec.28 - Dec.31, 2014, the young priests from the provinces of Korea and Japan came together for their quinquennium seminar in Tokyo. The two Provinces have been doing a joint seminar for their quinquennium, once every two years by turns. From Korea, Fr. Isidoro Hong led a group of 15 young priests and a lay brother; while Fr. Jacob Hamaguchi, accompanied the 4 young priests and a lay brother from Japan.

The group can be seen in the picture above. The picture at the center was taken when the group was with the two priests who shared their pastoral experience working during the tsunami. The bottom picture was during the talk given by Bishop Misobe - seated center at the far right side of the picture.

Thanks to Fr Daisuke Kitagawa, SDB, from Yokkaichi, for this update and for Fr Francis Okamoto Daijiro SDB for the pictures in Facebook.

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  Quinquennium Formation

for the KOR and GIA Confreres

TOKYO: January 6, 201 - Last year, from Dec.28 - Dec.31, 2014, the young priests from the provinces of Korea and Japan came together, here, for the quinquennium seminar. The two Provinces have been opening a joint seminar for the quinquennium once every two years by turns. From Korea, Fr. Isidoro Hong led a group of 15 young priests and a lay brother; while Fr. Jacob Hamaguchi, accompanied the 4 young priests and a lay brother from Japan.

In response to the request for visiting the sites of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the seminar started at Miyagi, where the effects and the damages brought by the tsunami still affect the people’s everyday life. Leaving Miyagi, the group visited Haramachi-Parish, Fukushima, which is the Catholic church nearest to the nuclear power plant destroyed by the tsunami. There, the radiation leak causes a great deal of challenges. In Miyagi and Fukushima, two parish priests, a missionary of Guadalupe and a Nagoya Diocesan priest, shared with the Salesian participants their life as priests, always at the side of the people who suffer.

After two days in the quake-hit sites, the seminar continued in Chofu, Tokyo, where Mons. Mizobe gave a talk. In those moments, the  participants also shared their own experiences with one another. Then the group paid a visit to a children’s home in Tokyo run by the Salesian Sisters, and to the parish of Mikawashima, where many Korean parishioners held a warm-welcoming party for the young priests. And the last day was spent for one-day Tokyo tour.

This group of young confreres from the KOR and GIA provinces had a fruitful time of reflecting on their priesthood and of deepening their relationship and communion.

Many thanks to all who supported the seminar, especially to Fr. Andrea Lee from the Diocese of Oita, who accompanied the group throughout the program as a translator. Without his help the meeting would not have been successful.