Saints to Know

Andrew Kim was also born into the noble ruling class of the Joseon Dynasty. His parents were among the many new converts to Catholicism. In 1836, at the age of fourteen or fifteen, Andrew was baptized. Three years later, his father was among the 1839 martyrs and is included in the list of today’s saints. After Andrew was baptized, he traveled 1,300 miles to the Portuguese colony of Macau where he entered seminary. He was later sent to the Philippines to complete his theological training, and in 1845, was ordained in Shanghai as the first Korean priest. Shortly afterward, he secretly returned to Korea via a treacherous sea journey so as to avoid the border guards and to begin his priestly ministry in Korea.

Father Andrew’s ministry in Korea was short-lived, but abundantly fruitful. In addition to offering the Sacraments in secret and teaching the faith, he helped to coordinate the arrival of other French missionary priests. His activity, however, did not go unnoticed. He was arrested in 1846 and subjected to brutal tortures in an attempt to get him to renounce his faith. Father Andrew not only remained strong in the profession of his faith while imprisoned, he also wrote several letters, including a most inspirational one to his parishioners. In that letter, he addressed the hardships that his parishioners would face, offered them hope, pointed them to salvation in Christ, and encouraged them to remain firm in their faith by finding strength in the teachings of the Catholic Church. He died by beheading on September 16, 1846, on the banks of the Han River at the age of twenty-five.

Persecution of Christians continued for the next twenty years, and in 1866, the worst persecution took place, claiming thousands of lives. In all, it has been estimated that between 10,000–20,000 Christians were martyred in Korea during the nineteenth century. The attempts to stop conversions to Catholicism in Korea were brutal. Imprisonment was not enough. Death was not sufficient. Cruel torture was the weapon used by the rulers to deter the spread of the faith. The 103 martyrs we honor today tell us that those efforts failed. Furthermore, the 123 martyrs proclaimed as venerable in 2014 give further credence to the fruitfulness of faith in the face of persecution.

As we honor today’s Korean martyrs, we are reminded that an authentic encounter with Christ so transforms a person that Christ becomes the center of his or her life. Real faith cannot be stopped. These martyrs chose faith over their earthly lives and eternity over temporal comforts. Their united witness should challenge each one of us to examine how deeply we believe in Christ. Is your faith strong enough to endure what they endured? If not, seek their intercession today and recommit yourself to making Jesus Christ the center of your life.

Prayer: Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, after encountering Christ you chose Him over your earthly lives. Your hope was eternal life, and death became gain for you. Please pray for me, that I will become so deeply devoted to Christ that nothing will ever deter me from following Him. May the hope that your witness gives me inspire me to become a saint like you. Korean Martyrs, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You. Shared from My Catholic Life