Abbot Odo Haas (O Do-whan in
Korean) passed away at the age of 88 on Feb. 17.
Until recently, he did not miss community prayers and liturgies at all, but a
month ago because of his old age, he had to be hospitalized at Daegu Fatima
Hospital.
He was born in 1931 in Karlstadt in the Diocese of Wurzburg, Germany. He
entered the Abbey of Munsterschwarzach, made the perpetual profession in 1957
and was ordained a priest on July 6, 1958. He was sent as a missionary to Korea
in 1960 and served as an assistant parish priest at Sangju parish.
He became the first abbot in Korea at the Waegwan Abbey of St. Benedict in
Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, at the early age of 33 in 1964 but
willingly resigned this position as abbot in 1971, thinking that Koreans should
run the Korean abbey.
During his terms as abbot, he placed the foundation to reconnect the
Benedictine Abbey of Deogwon in North Korea and Yeongil Abbey in China. He also
helped many civilians who were devoted for the democratic movement in Korea.
Then, he lived in Japan from 1972 to 1982, and in the Philippines from 1982 to
2004.
In 2002, he applied to go to India and China, but he had to come back to Korea
in 2004 and then went to Rome to serve as a confessional priest for three years
at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls where the tomb of St. Paul is
placed. He gave confessions in German, English, Korean, Japanese and
Cebuano.
After receiving knee joint surgery in Germany, he went to Taiwan in 2008, the
Golden Jubilee year of his priestly call and service, and came back to Korea
again in August in 2009. He helped Filipino migrant workers in Gumi Catholic
Workers’ Cultural Center, and later visited India and Taiwan.
Thus, resembling the missionary itinerary of St. Paul the apostle for gentiles,
Fr. Odo always had a clear and innocent smile. He dedicated himself to live as
a missionary who helped the mission place to grow and then left the place for
another mission place.
When Waegwan Abbey celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foundation in Korea
in 2009, he came back to Waegwan. He used to pray the rosary for an
hour-and-a-half every day. He offered each mystery of the rosaries for his
country Germany, the Pope, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. He also never forgot about
North Korea.
His whole life was truly a mission. When he read missionary magazines during
his youth, he felt the calling to live for many people on a mission.
Accordingly, he always replied to that calling and was eager to be sent to
other places.
As a German proverb says “A drop of honey catches more flies,” he always wished
the religious community to be such a honey. Regarding the community as a living
building where faith is alive, breathing in and out, he emphasized that “what
we need is not the building but the community.”
In the heavens above, he will still pray that all the religious communities
live lives that have the taste of the sweet honey of faith and witness such
lovely taste through the living community. Here and now, I can feel that he
sincerely hopes each of us will live and experience the Good News not with the
head but with the body.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2019/02/162_264011.html
The Korea Times/ Thoughts of the Times/ Feb. 19 (online)/ Feb. 20, 2019 (offline)
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