Ahn Gwang-hoon, a Catholic priest of the Missionary Society of St. Columban who devoted more than six decades to serving marginalized communities in South Korea, died Saturday at age 84.
Born Robert John Brennan in Auckland, New Zealand, Ahn was granted South Korean citizenship in 2020 in recognition of his lifelong work with the poor and vulnerable.
Ahn first came to South Korea in 1966, a year after his ordination. Over more than 60 years in the country, he dedicated himself to supporting those left behind during Korea’s rapid industrialization and economic growth, earning the nickname “the godfather of the poor.”
In 1972, during his 11-year tenure as parish priest of Jeongseon Catholic Church in Wonju, Gangwon Province, Ahn founded the region’s first credit union to protect residents from predatory lending and high interest rates. He also opened St. Francis Clinic to provide medical care to locals.
In the 1980s, Ahn relocated to Seoul and served at Mokdong Catholic Church. In 1981, he helped residents displaced from areas along Anyangcheon under a government urban redevelopment drive ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He provided temporary shelter at the church and later helped them relocate to Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.
In 1992, Ahn moved into a neighborhood in Seoul’s Gangbuk-gu to live alongside residents facing eviction. Six years later, he established the Solmoe Cooperative to support low-income farming communities.
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, he led an organization supporting the unemployed.
Until his final days, Ahn declined the comfort of official clergy housing, choosing instead to live among ordinary residents.
He was recognized for his work with the Seoul Social Welfare Grand Prize in 2012 and the Asan Social Welfare Award in 2014. He also received honorary citizenship from Seoul in 2012.
At one awards ceremony, Ahn said, “A church that does nothing for the poor and marginalized is unnecessary.”
After receiving South Korean citizenship in 2020, he said, “Fifty-four years after receiving the name Gwang-hoon as a young man, I became a South Korean citizen. Korea is not my second hometown, but my true hometown, and I am proud to live as a full Korean.”
Ahn died while receiving treatment at a hospital in Seoul.
His wake is being held at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Myeongdong Cathedral, presided over by Archbishop Chung Soon-taick of the Seoul Archdiocese.
Ahn will be buried at the Catholic cemetery at Baeron Holy Ground in the Diocese of Wonju, in accordance with his wish to be laid to rest in the diocese where he began his priesthood.
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