The founder of Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Father Nam Lois Deslandes ( 1895 ~ 1972 )
was born as an only child between his father Leon Deslandes and his mother Victorine Lecourtilier
in Manshpalini, Normandy, France in June 13, 1895.
In 1919, he joined Gutense Theological Seminary. In 1921, he joined the Paris Foreign Missions. In 1922, he was ordained a priest. On June 5, 1923, he was sent to the Korean church. On December 17, 1923, he serves as a throne priest of Naksan in Chilbok, Gyeongbuk Province. In the following year, he served as a priest of the parish church in Bumil-dong, Busan. On May 28, 1928, when he was a deputy in Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu and a priest of the parish church in Namsan-dong, his health became extremely weak. In 1933, had come back after a rest for a yea in France.
On April 16, 1934, he was appointed as a priest in the Yongpyeong parish church in Hwasan-myeon, Yeongcheon-gun, Gyeong-buk Province, taught children who had not been taught in the village, and opened a free clinic, starting medical charity work. At this time, Father Nam was filled with a hot love for poor people and was looking for those who would serve the Church in order to expand the kingdom of Jesus. At the time, luckily there were six ladies in the Yongpyeong parish church, who decided to keep sympathy. Father Nam accepted their wish and formed a community called 'Samdeok Dang'.
Fully trusting in the providence of God and being full of the merciful love of Jesus'the sisters taught the children while helping the parish work and took care of the needy neighbors. In the mean time, the work for the expansion of the kingdom of God got bigger and bigger.
In May 1940, Priest Nam was dispatched to the Yeongcheon parish church. The family of the Samdeok Dang also followed him. Moving to Yeoncheon, the Lord's work continued for ten years. At that time, Bishop No Gee-nam, who served as the fifth pastor in the Vicariate Apostolic of Daegu sensed the importance of Father Nam’s work and exempted the work of the Yeongcheon parish church. Then, Priest Nam moved to the Song Jeong beach, Youngil Bay, Pohang with all the families of the cathedral and made efforts for the full-fledged growth of the cathedral community, living a whole life for the work.
On March 25, 1965, the first general meeting was held. Sister Bernadette, Kim Jang-ju, was elected as the first general superintendent, and Priest Nam retired to Gopyeong, Ochon-eup, Pohang city where he paved roads, constructed and expanded bridges for the development of the community. He bought poor residents rice, kimchi, clothes, and even houses and land. on August 15, 1962, he received the Korean Culture Medal, and on November 3, 1969, he was honored with the award of the Liege d'Honneur Award by the French government. On October 24, 1972, he was celebrating golden jubilee. At the dawn on November 17 of the same year, while he was preparing the materials for meditating on the sisters as usual, he fell in God 's arms for a continuous life at the age of 77 due to a heart attack with the meditating guide unfinished.
Dr. Choi See-ryong, Sister Bernadette Kim, Sister Raphael Kim, and pathologist from the left
Founder, Priest Nam Dae-young, was interested in poor children, the elderly, and especially, lepers. At that time, he was being worried about how to help may patients who came to the convent's office and thus started to work on the Gura voluntary service with a Merinol member, Father Joseph Sweeney (1895 ~ 1966).
Priest Sweeney came to work Dr. Doctor Choi, Sister Bernadette Kim who made the first vow, and Sister Rafael Kim who was a two-year practitioner. At that time, they found a naked leprosy patient covered with a blanket with a newborn baby held with her arms in a secluded hut at the foot of the Hwasan River in Pohang. It was a start of the Gura Work.
Priest Nam opened Damian Skin Clinic in May, 1957. and continued to perform therapy. He traveled to Jellanam-do Province and Jellanam-buk Province as well as Chungcheongnam-doProvince/Chungcheongbuk-do Province and Gyeongsangnam-do Province/Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Facing many difficulties, Founder, Father Nam wanted the burden on the lepers to be the best in his missionary work.
In 1958, Betaniah Village was opened near the Hyeongsan River. He set up a leprosy settlement to accommodate those who were begging and drifting to allow them live a stable life. In Ulleungdo Island, he also performed mobile medical treatment.
Leper patient found first
Leper patient transported on the wooden carrying rack
Visited under the bridge
First Free Clinic 'Yongpyeong Village'
Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was intended to wish the kingdom of the saints of Jesus to go toward all people, expecially to spread love to those who are sicka and hungry, and those who are sick but can not go to hospital. With such passion, Founder, Father Nam, opened a general free clinic and Damien Clinic for the lepers in Song Jung. Many lepers came to the free clinic after the Korean War (6.25). In addition, he opened a tour clinic for lepers living in Gyeongsangnam-do /Gyeongsangbuk-do Provinces.
He was dispatched to the Gosung St. Mary's Hospital (1958 ~ 1977), where nuns took care of the lepers. Sisters were also dispatched to Gosung St. Mary's Hospital (1966), Miryang Clinic, Okcheon St. Mary's Hospital (1959 ~ 1989), Kyuam (Buyeo) (1962), St. Joseph Hospital, and Eumsung Leprosy Settlement (1958-1964) to take care of lepers. In 1958, Founder, Father Nam, bought a site in Songnae-dong, built fifteen houses with mud bricks, took some 60 lepers who were hiding under the Hyeonggang Bridge, settled them, and named it Betaniah Village, taking care of their children as well. Thus, Founder, Father Nam, received a special calling for medical apostolate.
Expanding the facilities depending on the demands of the times due to the surge of war orphans after Korean War in June 25, Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus protected orphans and aged people reaching thousands. In modern times, as economy was stabilized in the country, the orphanage child care work shrank rapidly and the preschool is closed because of bilateral ties with foreigners, domestic employment arrangements, independence policies for orphans over 18 years old, and measures for orphanages to return home according to the policy support in the social field. The protected reduced to 120 people including the elderly of the time of hospital establishment. Therefore, the Order was looking for a voluntary work that helped the community in the present age, not the child care, and that women could afford, it established a general hospital, Pohang St. Mary's Hospital for the precious lifes related to the area located in the factory area, dying industrial laborers without any benefit from a hospital with comprehensive facilities, who were working in hazardous workshops in the regional actory area, the health care of many citizens in nearby villages without any hospital, who were not receiving the benefits of medicine, and many poor people who were not helped by any institution.
As the site for Pohang St. Mary's Hospital was located in Yeonil-eup, Youngryun-gun, Pohang (currently 270-1, Daemam-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang), concerned people all agreed to establish the Pohang St. Mary's Hospital. Until the new project was conceived and practiced, it was followed by a lot of difficulties and conflicts. Thus, great courage and determination were needed. The priest has opened a clinic as part of his charity and have spent all his time in caring for the patients. However, when he heard that the hospital opening project would start, he was concerned saying "If you make money through a hospital, the Order is ruined."
Thus, the Order hesitated and did not make a decision easily. But in order to prevent diseases and to promote health of residents of the East Coast, the Order had to make a firm decision. Thus, on April 10, 1976, the founding committee which all had wished for was established and the work that had been planned started to make it concrete. The committee faced many difficulties to promote the hospital work. The most problematic thing was financial security. The sisters were asked to raise funds for the establishment of the hospital. They searched for various methods, but the easiest way was that the nuns tried to be more and more prosperous. The nuns gave up educations or seminars and also canceled all year round vacation. With prayer and sacrifice, they become one. In the end, on September 28, 1976, the construction of the Pohang St. Mary's Hospital began to fulfill the new medical mission, which was the wisk of all.
View of Pohang St. Mary's Hospital in the early of opening
Outpatient waiting room in the early of opening
Endoscopy examination in the early of opening
copyright(c) 2017 pohang st. mary’s hospital. all right reserved.