Pope Francis will baptize the father of one of the students killed in April's deadly Sewol ferry disaster.
 
Organizers of the papal visit to Korea say Lee Ho-jin will be baptized on Sunday at the Vatican Embassy in Seoul where the pope is staying during his time in Korea. 
 
The 56-year-old father asked to be baptized when he and a dozen other family members of the ferry victims met with the pontiff before Friday’s Mass held at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium.
 
Father Federico Lombardi, spokesman of the Holy See, said Friday that Lee made the request, sharing how he recently completed a pilgrimage, spanning several hundred kilometers from the ferry accident site to the city of Daejeon, to overcome the grief of losing his son.
 
The spokesman said the pope was at first surprised, but soon accepted the father's request. 

The baptism was originally planned for early Saturday morning, but will be performed on Sunday as the embassy needs more time to prepare for the ceremony. 
 
The 68-hundred ton Sewol ferry sank near Jindo Island on April 16. A total of 294 passengers have been confirmed dead and ten are still missing as search efforts continue. Most of the victims were high school students from a city south of Seoul on a field trip to the southern resort island of Jeju.