[김애란] Waegwan Abbey's German missionary

Fr. Bartholomaeus Henneken

By Kim Ae-ran

It is always a joy to meet a humble and gentle person. Fr. Bartholomaeus Henneken, German missionary of the Order of St. Benedict, is such a person. 

I met him just twice when I visited a small migrant workers community at the old Gothic Catholic Church at Waegwan Abbey of OSB. Each time after Mass, I noticed he was sincerely paying attention to a mentally disordered lady who has nobody to take care of her.

The way he talks, welcomes and listens to others with generosity, encouraging with goodness and compassion gave me a deep impression. His warm-hearted hospitality and cheerful consideration made me search for some bits of his life in Korea in internet.

He makes me ponder on the meaning of being a missionary. 

Several years ago, I wanted to be a missionary but I returned to the country after trial and error for two and half years. As I reflected later on, I realized my ego was too strong. In spite of my intention to place Jesus in the first place of my life, "I" was in the center…

Fr. Bartholomaeus, Hyun Ik-hyun in Korean, witnesses that being a missionary is to love God above all and to love people as neighbors. 

He is the second child among two sons and three daughters. His uncle-in-law priest as his godfather influenced him to be a priest. He made the first profession in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1966. At that time, he chose "God is love" (1John 4:16) as his priesthood motto. 

Then, he was sent to Korea in 1968. From 1970 onwards, he served as the parish priest in four parishes in Waegwan, Shindong, Yakmok and Gasil in Daegu Archdiocese.

Most of the time while doing his pastoral service, he observed that many lives of parishioners were so painful and struggling that he could understand the Buddhist concept of life as the sea of suffering.

As a parish priest, he always volunteered to clean the public toilet in the church. When dining together with parishioners, he was willing to pay for them.

After celebrating the 50th anniversary of profession in 2016, he was assigned to be a Spiritual director at the seminary in Daegu Catholic University. He also teaches the German language and helps the Filipino migrant workers' community since 2008.

Directing the Filipino community, he suggests them to read the Bible in their own language, Tagalog, and he lets them organize the community with various ideas such as reading the spiritual books, singing joyfully with the band during the Mass, having the retreat, etc.

His point of values is much more than that of Korean. He is the one who recovered the original name of "Gasil" (meaning a beautiful village) parish. During the Japanese colonization, the name was changed into "Naksan," but he recovered the original name during his pastoral service in 2005.

He even let the original copy of "Yangbong Yoji" (Bienenzuchtthe, the handbook for beekeeping) to be returned from German to Korea after 100 years.

Where does his power of witness as a missionary come from? I dare say that his spiritual energy comes from his recognition of God as love. He regards meditation and prayer as two essential pillars of the religious life. Especially the Mass (Eucharistic celebration) is the most powerful source of love and grace. 

To him, the mission of evangelization is being a neighbor. He believes that life will go well when we live with gratitude. Truly, the most important thing in our life is love.