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| President Moon Jae-in and Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin smile during a dinner at Parolin's residence in Rome following a special mass for peace on the Korean Peninsula at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
The Vatican greeted South Korean President Moon Jae-in Wednesday (local time) by holding a specially arranged "Mass for Peace on the Korean Peninsula" initiated in Korean.
"The Vatican welcomes President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook," Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the top diplomat of Pope Francis, said in an opening mass in Korean. "We deliver the Pope's blessing. Let us pray for peace on the peninsula," he said.
This is the first time that the Vatican held such a special mass in St. Peter's Basilica to pray for peace of a certain country. The Vatican explained that it is very rare for the Secretary of State Cardinal to preside over the mass.
President Moon responded with a faint smile to the unexpected opening statement delivered in Korean. Moon is on a nine-day European tour, and the mass was arranged to welcome his visit to the Vatican where he will meet with the pope and ask for support to bring lasting peace on the peninsula.
More than 800 people, including Vatican clergies, Korean government officials and residents there, participated in the hour-long event. The participants prayed for inter-Korean reconciliation and peace during the special mass.
Both the President and the first lady is Catholic. Kim was seen wearing a veil throughout the event.
After the mass, he also delivered what the Vatican called a "unique and exceptional" speech there, pledging to overcome the divided reality of the peninsula and achieve peace.
The President is going all-out to deliver a message of peace, urging strong support from the European society for North Korea to realize the complete denuclearization under the goal of building a nuclear-free and safe peninsula.
When the President finished his speech, attendees ― most of whom were Korean ― gave a standing ovation.
The President told Parolin that he expressed his strong desire for peace on the peninsula when descending from the podium. Parolin responded by saying that he will continue praying for peace on the peninsula.
As he was leaving it took Moon more than 10 minutes to walk the 80-meter-long center aisle as he was as he was shaking hands with participants of the event.
The President offered to deliver a speech and the exceptional event was made possible after the Vatican accepted the proposal from the Korean government.
