Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk

Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk (born 7 December 1931 in Seoul, Korea) is a South Korean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Seoul, having previously served as Bishop of Cheongju from 1970 to 1998, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2006.

Biography

Cheong Jin-Suk briefly studied chemical engineering at the Seoul National University before entering the seminary in Seoul, from where he later obtained his bachelor's degree in theology, in 1954. After studying sociology in Hong Kong, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Paul Kinam Ro on March 18, 1961.

Cheong then did pastoral work in Seoul until becoming a professor at its minor seminary and notary of its archdiocesan curia in 1962. He was chancellor of the curia and undersecretary of the Catholic Conference from 1964 to 1965, and episcopal chancellor and vice-rector of the Minor Seminary from 1966 to 1967. He then studied canon law in Rome, whilst residing at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, from October 1968 to 1970.

On 25 June 1970, Cheong was appointed the second Bishop of Cheongju by Pope Paul VI. He was received his episcopal consecration on the following October 3 from Archbishop Kinam Ro, with Bishops James Pardy, MM, and Peter Han Kong-ryel serving as co-consecrators, in the Church of the Holy Family in Cheongju. Cheong was later promoted to the third Archbishop of Seoul on April 3, 1998. In addition to his duties in Seoul, he was made Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of P'yong-yang on June 6 of that same year. He was elected President of the Korean Episcopal Conference in 1998 as well, thus serving as the spokesman for the Church in Korea.

Pope Benedict XVI created him Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea in the consistory of 24 March 2006. Cardinal Cheong Jin-Suk was later appointed to the executive committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family in the Roman Curia on the following May 6,^[1] and to the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See on February 3, 2007. He was also later appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

In accordance with Universi Dominici gregis, on his 80th birthday, 7 December 2011, Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk lost his curial memberships and vote to enter a conclave.

References

External links

• Catholic-Hierarchy
• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church