He left records as the on-site supervisor for building Seoul St. Mary's Hospital.
Appearances in film and a 60th-anniversary mission video added to his public memory.
He died at the age of 90, prompting Korean Catholic communities to look back on his long career.
“A Priest Who Built the Gospel on the Ground: Father Vittorio Di Nardo’s 62 Years”
Name and beginnings
He arrived in Korea in 1964.
Born in Italy in 1935, he was ordained a priest in 1961 (ordination is the ceremony that makes a man a priest). He reached Korea on January 10, 1964.
For the next 62 years he devoted himself to mission work across Korean regions.
Beyond preaching, he chose hands-on labor and on-site management, helping to build community infrastructure.
A calling rooted in the field
He worked at the worksite.
He chose service by hand over slogans of proclamation.
Serving as the construction supervisor for Seoul St. Mary's Hospital was not merely managing a build; it became a social practice that linked a medical institution to its neighborhood (Seoul St. Mary's is a leading Catholic hospital in Seoul).
Through labor and service he earned local trust. Meanwhile, the church gained physical and institutional footholds in places where it had previously had little presence.
In that sense, his work was a form of pastoral care expressed through concrete, public service.
Fieldwork was another face of the church.
Cultural meeting points
He also stood in front of the camera.
Brief film appearances recorded him as more than a cleric; they made him a cultural presence.
Short roles in movies and participation in local events were another way he communicated with communities.
The 60th-anniversary mission video offered a chance to document and reassess a career spanning decades.
Reframing meaning
This was field-centered mission work.
Father Di Nardo prioritized practical service over traditional verbal proclamation, demonstrating a model of mission focused on action.
That approach helped build trust and church infrastructure, and his role as a construction supervisor symbolized the fusion of public service and faith.
However, this practical approach sometimes created tensions inside church structures. On the one hand, meeting social needs directly built credibility; on the other hand, it raised questions about priorities and long-term pastoral strategy.
Practical service is another language of the gospel.
Arguments in favor
Supporters say he met real needs first.
Those who defend his path describe it as faith that goes where help is needed most, converting belief into tangible assistance.
During Korea's recovery after the war and its industrialization, building medical facilities and other social infrastructure directly improved people's lives.
Moreover, backers point to ethical strengths: acting through service rather than slogans can accumulate religious trust. Meanwhile, hands-on work in medical and construction sites gives visible proof that the church is taking social responsibility seriously.
Over time, such efforts can build the relational capital between a church and its neighborhood, potentially supporting long-term community life and religious growth.
From a practical perspective, such projects can be cost-effective social investments. Construction and institutional setup create the scaffolding for future healthcare and welfare networks. Therefore, field-centered mission can also secure cultural fit by responding to local life and expectations.
Criticisms and limits
Critics say he drifted from traditional mission priorities.
Some argue that by focusing on construction and service he gave relatively less attention to preaching, sacraments, and the spiritual formation that traditionally define mission work. Consequently, there is a risk of losing sight of core spiritual aims.
Scholars and some theologians also note structural limits. Building physical infrastructure can produce short-term support but does not automatically ensure long-term spiritual growth or transmission of faith. On the other hand, when a foreign priest leads major local projects, questions about local ownership and autonomy can arise.
Another critique concerns resource allocation. Large projects like hospital construction concentrate funding and attention, potentially diverting resources away from home-based care or small-scale welfare programs. Therefore, while the symbolic value of such projects is acknowledged, critics warn they can skew church priorities and hinder local self-reliance.
Balanced appraisal
Both possibilities and limits are visible.
Father Di Nardo's life shows that mission need not be one-size-fits-all. On the one hand, his practical work supplied necessary physical resources and earned trust; on the other, it left a debate about the place of traditional spiritual ministry.
There is no denying that fieldwork is another language of the gospel.
However, without institutional and theological reflection, practical deeds alone are hard to sustain as a long-term mission model. Therefore, the church should design integrated approaches that pair infrastructure projects with education and pastoral capacity building. Doing so encourages service and proclamation to operate as mutual complements rather than competitors.
Conclusion
To summarize:
Father Vittorio Di Nardo proved his faith through 62 years of field-centered service in Korea.
His supervision of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital construction, film appearances, and other activities created a layered public image.
His death at age 90 marks the end of a personal life and prompts a moment of reflection for the Korean Catholic community.
The key lesson is balance.
His career highlights the tension between service-oriented work and traditional mission. Looking forward, mission strategies should aim to integrate both approaches, making social service and spiritual formation complementary rather than competing tasks.
Which form of mission seems more sustainable to you: hands-on community building, traditional preaching and sacrament, or a planned mixture of both?
