(LEAD) French missionary bishop Rene Dupont dies at 95

▲ In this file photo, Rene Marie Albert Dupont, a French-born bishop serving in South Korea, speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in the county of Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, on June 12, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ In this undated file photo, Bishop Rene Marie Albert Dupont (2nd from R) poses for a photo during his visit to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) French bishop-obituary

(LEAD) French missionary bishop Rene Dupont dies at 95

(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 2-3, photo)

SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- Rene Marie Albert Dupont, a French-born bishop who devoted his life to pastoral work in rural South Korea, died of a cerebral infarction Thursday, officials said. He was 95.

The bishop had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, after undergoing emergency surgery for a cerebral infarction earlier this week.

Born in 1929 in the French city of Orleans, he was ordained a priest in June 1953.

He was dispatched to South Korea in December 1954, shortly after the 1950–53 Korean War, and dedicated more than 70 years to serving rural communities in the central city of Daejeon and other regions through his pastoral mission.

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