'No retirement from giving': Catholic priest returns to school to care for elderly

Father Carlo Yoon Haeng-do, head of Wolyeong Catholic Church in the Diocese of Masan, enrolled in a social welfare master’s program at Kyungnam University in South Gyeongsang Province in March to prepare for serving older people after retirement. He says priests may step down from active ministry at 70, but service to neighbors has no retirement. His studies have led him to emphasize a community-wide welfare network rather than charity dependent on individuals. Through his Zacchaeus Storehouse account, he supports welfare facilities and individuals and passes nursing-home residents’ offerings to child welfare facilities.

Yoon returned to study after nearly 30 years away from the classroom.

He rises around 3 a.m. and prays for about two hours before cleaning the church and nearby alleyways, a routine he has kept since taking up his post in 2024.

Yoon has maintained the Zacchaeus Storehouse account since 2009, pooling lecture fees and parishioners’ donations.

He currently provides regular support to three welfare facilities and four individuals.

A class on Japan’s Restaurant of Mistaken Orders, where people with dementia take customers’ orders, showed Yoon how older people could be treated as valued members of society.

Published Oct 22, 2026 12:00 am KST

Father Carlo Yoon Haeng-do of Wolyeong Catholic Church in the Diocese of Masan is preparing to continue serving the elderly through social welfare after retirement. Courtesy of Kyungnam University

As the elderly population grows, someone has to work for older people, and older people themselves should also take part in that work.

A Catholic priest in his 60s who has spent his life serving others is embarking on a new educational journey after decades away from the classroom, hoping to continue his service to the elderly after retirement.

Father Carlo Yoon Haeng-do, 65, is head of the Wolyeong Catholic Church in the Diocese of Masan.

Yoon enrolled in a master's program in social welfare at Kyungnam University in South Gyeongsang Province in March. He returned to his studies after nearly 30 years to prepare for a new chapter of service to the elderly after retirement. Although priests step down from active ministry at 70, Yoon believes that “there is no retirement from serving one's neighbors.”

“As the elderly population grows, someone has to work for older people, and older people themselves should also take part in that work,” he said with a broad smile.

Yoon begins each day by rising around 3 a.m. and praying for about two hours before cleaning the church and nearby alleyways. He has maintained this routine since taking up his post at Wolyeong Catholic Church in 2024. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, he heads to university classrooms, balancing his pastoral duties with his studies.

Graduate school has given him a broader perspective on the charitable work he has practiced for years. He has come to recognize the need for a systematic social welfare network involving local communities and welfare institutions, moving beyond charity that depends on the goodwill of individuals.

“Sharing, as I have practiced it for so long, is an act of charity in which one person gives to another. Social welfare is about weaving those helping hands into a network called society,” Yoon explained.

One class that particularly stayed with him examined Japan's “Restaurant of Mistaken Orders,” where people with dementia take customers' orders. Yoon said the initiative showed how treating older people as valued members of society, rather than merely as people in need of protection, could help them maintain their self-esteem while teaching society to be more accepting of others' mistakes.

“The elderly are not people who are fading away, but precious people who have made us who we are today,” he said.

Yoon Haeng-do holds the “Zacchaeus Storehouse” bankbook, which he uses to help people in need, alongside a piggy bank containing offerings. Courtesy of Kyungnam University

His commitment to giving is reflected in a dedicated bank account he has maintained since 2009. Known as the “Zacchaeus Storehouse,” the account pools his lecture fees and donations from parishioners to help people in need. The name refers to Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector in the Bible who gave his wealth to the poor, reflecting Yoon's commitment to sharing generously whatever comes his way.

He currently provides regular support to three welfare facilities and four individuals. He also collects offerings made by residents of nursing homes — often small sums saved from their personal spending money — and passes them on to child welfare facilities, creating bonds of generosity between generations.

Drawing on the social welfare theories he is learning at Kyungnam University, Yoon hopes to expand his work beyond individual acts of kindness into a more systematic approach to elderly care linked to the wider community.

Still, he describes himself as someone who is continuing to learn. For him, giving begins when a hand that once held on to its grain for itself opens toward others.

“I am now practicing how to open my hands,” he said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

马山教区月陵天主教堂主任司铎尹行道神父于今年三月进入庆尚南道庆南大学攻读社会福利硕士学位，为退休后更好地服务老年人做好准备。他表示，神父们或许会在70岁退休，但服务邻里却永无止境。他的学习使他更加重视社区福利网络，而非依赖个人的慈善捐助。他通过自己的“撒该仓库”账户，为福利机构和个人提供支持，并将养老院居民的捐款转交给儿童福利机构。

尹教授离开课堂近30年后重返校园。

他每天凌晨 3 点左右起床，祈祷约两个小时，然后打扫教堂和附近的巷道。自 2024 年上任以来，他一直保持着这个习惯。

自 2009 年以来，尹一直负责管理撒该仓库账户，将讲课费和教区居民的捐款汇集在一起​​。

他目前定期为三家福利机构和四名个人提供支持。

一堂关于日本“点错餐”的课程，让患有痴呆症的人为顾客点餐，向尹展示了老年人如何才能成为社会中受重视的成员。

发布于2026年10月22日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

马山教区月陵天主教堂的尹行道神父（Carlo Yoon Haeng-do）退休后，计划继续从事社会福利工作，为老年人服务。图片由庆南大学提供。

随着老年人口的增长，总得有人为老年人服务，老年人自身也应该参与到这项工作中来。

一位六十多岁的天主教神父，一生致力于服务他人，在离开课堂数十年后，即将开启一段新的教育之旅，希望退休后继续为老年人服务。

65岁的尹行道神父是马山教区卧龙天主教堂的负责人。

今年三月，尹先生在庆尚南道庆南大学攻读社会福利硕士学位。时隔近三十年，他重返校园，为退休后服务老年人的新篇章做准备。虽然神父通常在70岁退休，但尹先生认为“服务邻里没有退休之说”。

“随着老年人口的增长，总得有人为老年人服务，老年人自己也应该参与到这项工作中来，”他笑着说。

尹神父每天凌晨三点左右起床，祈祷约两小时，然后打扫教堂和附近的巷道。自2024年到任卧龙天主教堂以来，他一直保持着这个作息。每周三和周四晚上，他会前往大学教室，兼顾牧师工作和学业。

研究生学习让他对多年来从事的慈善工作有了更广阔的视野。他逐渐认识到，需要建立一个系统的社会福利网络，将地方社区和福利机构纳入其中，从而超越依赖个人善意的慈善模式。

“我一直以来践行的分享，是一种慈善行为，即一个人给予另一个人。社会福利就是将这些互助之手编织成一个名为社会的网络，”尹解释道。

其中一门课让他印象尤为深刻，这门课探讨了日本的“错点餐厅”，这家餐厅由患有失智症的人为顾客点餐。尹教授表示，这项举措表明，将老年人视为社会中受重视的成员，而不是仅仅视为需要保护的人，可以帮助他们维护自尊，同时也能教会社会更加包容他人的错误。

他说：“老年人不是正在消逝的人，而是宝贵的人，是他们造就了今天的我们。”

尹行道手持“撒该仓库”存折，他用这本存折帮助有需要的人，旁边还有一个装有奉献款项的存钱罐。图片由庆南大学提供。

他乐于助人的精神体现在他自2009年起设立的一个专门银行账户上。这个名为“撒该仓库”的账户汇集了他的讲课费和教友的捐款，用于帮助有需要的人。账户名称源于圣经中的税吏长撒该，他将自己的财富分给了穷人，这体现了尹牧师慷慨分享一切所得的理念。

他目前定期为三家福利机构和四位个人提供帮助。他还收集养老院居民的捐款——通常是他们从个人零花钱中省下的少量资金——并将这些捐款转交给儿童福利机构，从而在代际之间建立起慷慨的纽带。

尹先生希望运用他在庆南大学学习的社会福利理论，将他的工作从个人的善举扩展到与更广泛的社区联系在一起的更系统的老年护理方法。

不过，他仍然认为自己是一个不断学习的人。对他而言，给予始于一只曾经只为自己着想的手向他人敞开之时。

“我现在正在练习如何张开双手，”他说。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。