Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

The Illinois Community welcomes Fr. Juan Vásquez and Fr. Benedict Ko, MSC who arrived early this year.

Fr. Juan is a good friend of the MSC community in Guatemala and as a diocesan priest shares in the charism and spirituality of the MSC community. Fr. Juan is from the Diocese of El Quiche where three of our MSC priests were martyred in 1980. The witness of these MSC motivated Fr. Juan in his own vocation and endeared him to the MSC community. He has come to the USA to study the English language for one year before going to work with our MSC missionaries in AIDS ministry in the Diocese of Tzaneen in South Africa with Bishop Hugh Slattery, MSC and with the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. To see what missionary priests, brothers and sisters are doing in the Diocese of Tzaneen and to learn more about AIDS ministry, click here.

Fr. Benedict is a member of the MSC Korea Region and will staying with the Illinois Community for three years. He will begin his studies at Catholic Theological Union this fall where he will be pursuing his doctorate in ministry. Fr. Benedict joined the MSC in 1995 and since then has served as a formator and as a hospital chaplain in South Korea. Fr. Benedict is also very interested in retreat ministry.

To learn more about the MSC Korea Region, please click here and visit their website.

We are very happy to have both Fr. Benedict and Fr. Juan with us and sharing in our community life!