Fr Robert Brennan’s Diamond Jubilee - A life poured out with the poor in Korea

From the moment he stepped onto Korean soil in 1966, he has lived a life of service, witness and authentic missionary commitment to the Gospel and to the people of Korea.

Born on December 14, 1941, in Auckland, New Zealand, Robert was the eldest of five children to Robert Edward and Sadie Marie. He attended Good Shepherd Parish School in Balmoral and completed his secondary education with the Christian Brothers at St Peter’s College, Epsom. Responding to the missionary call, he joined St Columban’s in 1959 and completed his formation in Sassafras, Victoria, and Turramurra, NSW.

On July 3, 1965, he was ordained by Archbishop Liston at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland and on the following day he celebrated his first Mass at Good Shepherd Church.

Shortly afterwards, Fr Robert was appointed to Korea and arrived there in September 1966. After two years of intensive Korean language study, he began pastoral work in the rugged mountains of Kangwon province. His ministry in parishes like Sajik, Jeongseon and Wonju reflected a deep integration with the Korean Catholic people. He was not only a parish priest but also a community builder, establishing credit unions, supporting local farmers, building a church and later a clinic operated by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

In 1979 he proudly handed Jeongseon parish over to a Korean priest as a self-supporting faith community.

Fr Robert’s missionary spirituality continued to grow through studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, where he earned a Master's Degree in Sacred Theology, focusing on Christology and mission. Back in Seoul, he advocated for the rights of people evicted from their homes due to urban redevelopment. His voice stood out in a society rapidly modernising, often at the expense of its most vulnerable citizens.

His next appointment was to the Korean Columban Formation Program as its inaugural Rector. This involved the establishment of a formation house and a programme of guidance for Korean Columban seminarians and also the production of vocation resources and publications. His leadership helped shape a new generation of Columban missionaries with a strong commitment to the poor and marginalised.

Moving on from the ministry of seminarian formation, in 1992 Fr Robert found another home and challenge in Samyangdong, one of Seoul’s poorest hillside neighbourhoods. When the area was cleared for redevelopment, he stood in solidarity with the new homeless and displaced people. He helped to set up the Samyang Citizens’ Network, establish the Kangbuk Housing Welfare Centre and founded the Hanbagaji Micro Credit Bank in 2009. His mission was one of advocacy, accompaniment, and creative pastoral care.

His efforts did not go unnoticed. In 2012, Fr Robert received the Seoul City Grand Prize for Welfare and was made an Honorary Citizen of Seoul.

Then in 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Asan Foundation Grand Peace Prize, which recognised his decades of tireless service to Korea’s urban poor.

During six decades of Columban missionary priesthood, Fr Robert has walked with those most often left behind. His Diamond Jubilee is not just a recognition of years, but of many lives transformed, systems challenged, and a Gospel truly lived.

We thank Fr Robert and celebrate with him for his life of vision, faithfulness, courage and compassion. May his example continue to inspire Columban missionaries and disciples of Jesus everywhere for generations to come.

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