About 3,000 people gathered in Myeongdong Cathedral to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of South Korea’s first cardinal and most respected spiritual leader.

A memorial Mass for Cardinal Stephen Kim Souhwan was celebrated by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, bishops and priests.

A memorial ceremony included speeches by Archbishop Alfred Xuereb, apostolic nuncio to South Korea, and Archbishop Hyginus Kim Heejoong, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’  Conference of Korea. A speech by South Korean President Moon Jae-in was read by Kim Yong-sam, viceminister in the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

“This commemoratory Mass was not only just to miss him. Even in the many difficulties and challenges all of us are undergoing in everyday life, we all should try to inherit his message of love and gratitude engraved in his last words ‘Thank you, love each other,’” Cardinal Yeom said in his homily on Feb. 16.