Fr. Vincenzo Bordo arrived in South Korea in 1990. After three decades, one of the fruits of his pastoral work is this soup kitchen, where 500 people come for food every day. It is called Anna's House.
But these are not the only people he works with. Together with his team, they go through the streets of Seoul offering food to the most needy in and around the South Korean capital.
FR. VINCENZO BORDO
Founder, Anna's House
Where are the wounds of the risen Jesus? Where there is a poor, a homeless, a runaway children, they are the wounds of the risen Jesus. So here, in Anna's House, we don't work for poor people. We have the honor to welcome the wounds of the risen Jesus.
Fr. Vincenzo's goal is to help those most in need. But he also tries to keep one of Pope Francis' challenges for priests at the center of his mission.
POPE FRANCIS
Do not abandon those who suffer, do not abandon the Lord of the Tabernacle, be convinced that you will not be able to do anything with your hands if you do not do it with your knees. Adoration. Eucharistic silence.
In fact, Fr. Vincenzo's day begins away from the hustle and bustle of the soup kitchens.
FR. VINCENZO BORDO
Founder, Anna's House
I wake up 5 o'clock in the morning. I work a little. I pray. I say the Mass. I'm a catholic priest, still. At 8:30, I leave the community and I'm visiting all the children houses. What is going on, what is the problem, what is the situation, stay with the children for a while. In the afternoon, at lunch time, I come here in this building. I have lunch here with some homeless those that are living here. And from 1 o'clock untill 7, I work in the soup kitchen since '93.
His program aims to meet the needs of the people. For example, in South Korea, there is a growing presence of street children. And rather than waiting for them to come to Anna's House, Fr. Vincenzo goes out to look for them in a bus, which patrols the city from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
FR. VINCENZO BORDO
Founder, Anna's House
At the beguinning, I was happy to give food to street children. But when I leave them, I said bye, see you tomorrow. Bye, see you tomorrow. Where do they go? They go on the street. It's dark; it's dangerous. I said, it's not possible this. We should do something.
After 33 years living in the country, Fr. Vincenzo feels very much at home and has even adopted a Korean name: Kim Ha Jong. Kim, as the name of the first Korean priest and Ha Jong which means "servant of God." He says the latter phrase is "the project of his life."
PA/KG
