Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy Lazarus You Heung-sik, 70, is officially a cardinal. He is shown here on Aug. 21, 2021, giving a sermon at a Mass commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Korea's first Catholic priest, at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. (Yonhap News)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong and Lee Jihae

Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy Lazarus You Heung-sik is the fourth cardinal in Korean Catholicism history, with his appointment coming just 11 months after being named prefect.

Pope Francis on May 30 at Apostolic Palace in Vatican City announced a list of 21 new cardinals including several from Asian nations like India, Singapore, East Timor and Mongolia.

The roster is said to reflect the pope's will to expand the foundation of Catholicism and listen to voices from relatively marginalized regions with Catholic communities.

A cardinal is the second highest position of authority and prestige in the Catholic hierarchy after the pope. Cardinals assist the pope in leading churches. The College of Cardinals, which all the cardinals worldwide are affiliated with, is the pope's highest advisory body under the rules of the Catholic Church.

The three other Korean cardinals are Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009), Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk (1931-21) and Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, 78.

Born in 1951 in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Cardinal You in 1979 graduated from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and was ordained a priest in the Italian capital.

Since 2005, he has worked as the diocesan priest of Daejeon and in June last year, he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. His last post was to supervise work related to the duties and lives of Catholic priests and deacons around the world.

The priest is the first Korean to be appointed a prefect in Korean Catholicism's 240-year history and that of the Vatican.

Cardinal You is known as a Korean priest who communicates closely with Pope Francis and supposedly has the strongest friendship with the pope among prefects.

In a phone interview with Yonhap News, the newly appointed cardinal said, "I dedicate this honor to Korean martyrs, Korean Catholic Church and Korean people," adding, "I'm grateful to the pope for showing trust in me again despite my shortcomings by appointing me prefect and cardinal."

"This is thanks to the prayers and faith of Korean martyrs and the result of the higher status of both the Korean Catholic Church and Korea."

Cardinal You's ceremony for elevation to his new position is slated for Aug. 27.

dusrud21@korea.kr