BY LORRAINE MESAGNA
A new Parochial Vicar has arrived at the Church of St. Mary. The Rev. Fr. Jiha Lim was assigned to replace Fr. Christopher Costigan, who departed for St. Martha’s in Uniondale in June.
Lim was born in Seoul, South Korea. He lived there until about 10 years of age, when he, his parents and his sister moved to the United States for educational opportunities, following members of their extended family. He and his family settled in Valley Stream, where he attended Valley Stream South High School.
Lim says that his family has always been “very devout, faithful and prayerful.” After arriving in the United States, the family began worshiping at the Church of St. Dominic in Oyster Bay, which was one of two parishes on Long Island at the time to offer a mass celebrated in Korean. This Korean mass has since moved to the Holy Name of Jesus Church in Woodbury, where it remains today.
The calling to a religious life for Lim began early, while he was an altar server in elementary school in Seoul. By middle school, he felt that he wanted to enter the seminary, a vocational calling that became stronger throughout high school. However, before he made his final decision, Lim’s father put forth a challenge to his son. The senior Lim told his son that his commitment should be at the same level as St. Damien of Molokai, the Belgian priest who spent 16 years caring for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of people with leprosy (now known as Hansen’s disease).
Lim took his father’s challenge to heart. Realizing he needed more time to reflect on what he believed was his calling, he entered a secular college in the New York area to take general education courses for what would turn out to be one year. He remained very involved with the Roman Catholic Church during that year, and he consulted often with his mentor, Fr. Thomas Ju, whom he had met at Holy Name of Jesus Church. Lim says that Ju is “completely selfless to an utmost degree” and finds the way that Ju lives his priesthood “inspiring.” With Ju’s strong encouragement and the echo of Ju’s often said words, “if not now, then never,” Lim made his decision to enter the seminary, beginning in January 2010. After 2-½ years of College Seminary in Douglaston, located on the grounds of the Immaculate Conception Center, Lim started Major Seminary at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, where he spent four years studying and working alongside many other aspiring priests.
It was in 2014, during his second pastoral summer, that Lim became acquainted with the Church of St. Mary, when he was assigned there for an internship. As a seminarian, he worked with students at the tail end of their school year, altar served at masses and lectored as needed. This assignment was repeated in the following summer, and in the autumn of 2015, his involvement increased when he was assigned to be a deacon, to assist the priest at mass by proclaiming the Gospel and preaching. Lim was ordained by Bishop William Murphy at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre on Saturday, June 25. The next day he celebrated his first mass as a priest at the Holy Name of Jesus Church and began his current assignment at the Church of St. Mary on June 29.
As a Parochial Vicar, Fr. Jiha is responsible for celebrating mass, hearing confessions, working with teachers and students at the schools of St. Mary, training altar servers, making hospital and home visits as necessary and assisting engaged couples navigate the marital paperwork process, in addition to being the pastor’s general “right-hand man.” He looks forward to gaining important “priestly” experience and knowledge under the supervision and guidance of the Rev. Fr. “Fr. Bob” Romeo as he continues his journey along the road to becoming a seasoned priest.
Lim would like to thank everyone at Church of St. Mary, “Fr. Bob, Fr. Jude, and all of the priests at the rectory, excellent staff members, and amazing parishioners for their
warm welcome and kindness in making the transition smooth. Especially Bishop Murphy for the wonderful assignment.”
