SEOUL: A diocese in South Korea has signed a signed a Fidei Donum agreement with the Santiago Archdiocese in Chile resulting in two Korean priests running a parish in the South American nation.

Auxiliary Bishop John Moon Hee-jong of Suwon visited Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago of Chile on July 10 and established Fidei Donum through a mission-pastoral agreement.

Fidei Donum (gift of faith) is an encyclical Pope Pius XII issued in 1957 that encourages dioceses to send their priests abroad as missioners.

The South Korean diocese sent two missionary priests to Chile's Santiago Archdiocese through Missionary Society of St. Columban in 2014. The Fidei Donum agreement will result in the two priests, Fathers Simon Baek Youn-hyen and Peter Mun Seok-hun, remaining as Santiago Archdiocesan priests and running a parish there together.

The Santiago Archdiocese consists of about 4.25 million Catholics but only has 250 archdiocesan priests which means it faces difficulties providing pastoral activities.--Ucanews.Com