Artifacts of 230-year Korean Catholics are on display in Vatican  

Artifacts of 230-year Korean Catholics are on display in Vatican  . September. 11, 2017 07:48. by Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com. A special exhibition on Korea started on last Saturday (local time) in Vatican City, Rome. Hosted by the Archdiocese of Seoul, this special exhibition titled "On Earth as it is in Heaven: Inside the Catholic Church of Seoul" is being held at the Braccio di Carlo Magno hall of the Vatican Museums and displayed 187 artifacts that reflected the 230-year history of Korean Catholic church. The opening date was the day that Pope Gregorio XVI sent a rescript for his approval of setting up a diocese system in Korea for the first time in 1831.

The opening mass was jointly presided by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong, and the Episcopal Conference of bishops. In his sermon, Cardinal Yeom said, “The exhibition will serve as an opportunity to introduce the past and future of Korean Catholic including its autonomous birth, history of martyrdom and persecution, and active participation in transformative era of modern history.

In the ribbon cutting ceremony, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the president of commission governing Vatican City State, said that holding the exhibition in Vatican after three years since Pope Francis visited Seoul in 2014 showed a strong friendship between Korean church and Vatican.