St. Fausta and Evilasius

Feastday: September 20
Death: 303

Martyrs at Cyzicum, in Pontus. Fausta, a girl of thirteen, was tortured by her judge, Evilasius. Her courage converted him, and he died with her.

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St. Eustace

Feastday: September 20
Death: 118

Martyr with Theophistes, Agapitus, and Theophistus. Eustace was a Roman military officer called Placida. He converted after having a vision in Italy of a stag with a crucifix between its antlers. Tradition states that he was separated from his family and recalled to the army, becoming famous for a battle. When he and his family reunited, he refused to take part in the pagan ceremony and they were roasted to death. Eustace is also called Eustathius.

This article is about the 2nd-century saint. For the 6th-century saint, see Saint Eustase. For the Lithuanian saint, see Anthony, John, and Eustathios. For the abbot of Luxeuil, see Eustace of Luxeuil.

Saint Eustace, also known as Eustachiusor Eustathius in Latin,^[1] is revered as a Christian martyr. His hagiographical text Legend of St. Eustace was popular throughout Christendom of the Middle Ages, especially in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries of France and was written in different languages such as Latin, Greek, French, English, and Anglo-Saxon. Major events occurring in the text were also popular amongst different forms art such as sculptures illuminate manuscripts, stained glass, enamel, ivory, and murals.^[2] Legend places him in the 2nd century AD. A martyr of that name is venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.^[3] He is commemorated by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church on September 20. The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates St. Eustace on October 1.^[4]

Contents

• 1 Legend of St. Eustace
  • 1.1 Placidus's conversion
  • 1.2 Fifteen years later
• 2 Variants
• 3 Diffusion of his veneration
• 4 In culture
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Sources
• 8 Gallery
• 9 External links

Legend of St. Eustace

Placidus's conversion

In the 13th century French tradition of the narrative, it begins with Placidus (Eustace's name before he was baptized) hunting, and while hunting, he follows into woods a deer which causes Placidus to separate from a group of hunters; And while he followed, the deer reversed towards him. Placidus is then awestruck by a vision where he sees the crossbetween the antlers of the deer, and in that moment, Placidus is commanded by the voice of God to be baptized along with his family on that very night by the bishop of Rome; He is baptized and has his name changed to Eustace, and then he receives another vision from a voice informing him of upcoming trials for he and his family where they will suffer; They lose their goods, servants, livestock, and social status. They attempted to travel by boat, however, Eustace couldn't afford the voyage. Eustace and his two sons Agapius and Theopistus were then removed from the boat and separated from Eustace's wife Theopista, so Eustace and his sons continued traveling; They arrived at a river where Eustace had to carry them across one at a time. After successfully taking one to the other-side, Eustace attempted for the other, however, both of his sons were taken by animals while he was crossing the river; one by lion and the other by wolf. Unknowingly to Eustace, his sons were saved and raised independently.^[2]

Fifteen years later

In the French tradition, Eustace then worked for fifteen years as a guard protecting fields until he was approached by two envoys of Roman emperor Trajanwho were sent to persuade him to return to Rome and repel an uprising; Eustace complied. There in Rome, he was reinstated his original rank of general, led an army, and coincidentally, achieved victory in the home country of the captain who abducted his wife Theopista. Trading life stories after the battle, two soldiers discover they were the brothers abducted by animals, and overhearing them, Theopista recognizes her husband Eustace. Eustace and his family then return to Rome to celebrate at a victory dinner under the new Roman emperor Hadrian who was less tolerant towards Christians. Following the dinner, Hadrian requested Eustace and his family to make an offering to pagan gods; They refused. Eustace and his family were then thrown in a den of lions, but the lions did not touch them. Eustace and his family were then put into a brazen bull; They died but their bodies were untouched by the flames.^[5]

Variants

The opening part of this tradition, up to St. Eustace's martyrdom, is a variant of a popular tale in chivalric romance: "the Man Tried By Fate".^[6] Except for an exemplum in Gesta Romanorum,^[7] all such tales are highly developed romances, such as Sir Isumbras.^[8] A distant Indian origin for elements in the Eustace legend has been proposed.^[9]

Diffusion of his veneration

In an unusually early image, Eustace accompanies Saint George on a 10th-century Byzantine ivoryHarbaville Triptych(Louvre Museum).

Medieval Reliquary of St. Eustace from the cathedral at Basel, Switzerland, now in the British Museum.

The veneration of Eustace originated in the Eastern Orthodox Churchwherein he is venerated as Saint Eustathios the Great Martyr(Greek: Ἅγιος Εὐστάθιος ὁ Μεγαλομάρτυς). N. Thierry postulated that the tradition may have originated in Cappadocia, pointing out that a large repertoire of images of the Vision of Eustace exist as frescoes in this region's early-Christian rock-cut churches. Thierry also notes a 7th-century Armeno-Georgian stele at the Davit Garedjamonastery in present-day Georgia with a relief depicting the Vision of Eustace, and a relief on the chancel of Tsebelda in Abkhazia, dated variously from the 7th to the 9th century, that also depicts the Vision.^[10]

In Armenia, Erewmanavank ("Convent of the Holy Apparition") near Egin was said to be built on the actual location of the encounter of Placidus with the deer. The earliest surviving text detailing this is a manuscript from 1446, but the monastery is far older than that and probably a Byzantine foundation; J.-M. Thierry considers it to be a 10th-century foundation, perhaps by Greeks from Cappadocia. Although the monastery was destroyed during the Armenian Genocide, Thierry, in the 1980s, noted that a transmitted form of the legend still existed among local Muslim Kurds who talked of a "deer of light" appearing at the site.^[11]

In the West, an early-medieval church dedicated to him that existed in Rome is mentioned in a letter of Pope Gregory II(731–741).^[12] His iconography may have passed to the 12th-century West, before which time European examples are scarce, in psalters, where the vision of Eustace, kneeling before a stag, illustrated Psalm 96, ii-12: "Light is risen to the just..."^[13]

An early European depiction of Eustace, the earliest one noted in the Duchy of Burgundy, is carved on a Romanesque capital at Vézelay Abbey.^[14] Abbot Sugermentions the first relics of Eustace in Europe, at an altar in the royal Basilica of St Denis;^[15] Philip Augustus of Francerededicated the church of Saint Agnès, Paris, which became Saint-Eustache(rebuilt in the 16th–17th centuries). The story of Eustace was popularized in Jacobus da Varagine's Golden Legend (c. 1260). Scenes from the story, especially of Eustace kneeling before the stag, then became popular subjects of medieval religious art: examples include a wall painting at Canterbury Cathedral and stained glass windows at the Cathedral of Chartres.

Saint Eustace's feast day in the Roman Catholic Church, as is also in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is September 20, as indicated in the Roman Martyrology.^[16]The celebration of Saint Eustace and his companions was included in the Roman Calendar from the twelfth century until 1969, when it was removed because of the completely fabulous character of the saint's Acta,^[16][17] resulting in a lack of sure knowledge about them. However, his feast is still observed by Roman Catholics who follow the pre-1970 Roman Calendar.

Saint Eustace's commemoration was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1970, though he continued to be commemorated in the latest edition of the Roman Martyrology.^[16] Local observance is still practiced.^[18]

In culture

In medieval times, Saint Eustace's story was adapted into at least 10 different plays in varying forms.^[19][20]

Eustace became known as a patron saintof hunters and firefighters, and also of anyone facing adversity; he was traditionally included among the Fourteen Holy Helpers.^[21] He is one of the patron saints of Madrid, Spain. The island of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands is named after him.

The novels "The Herb of Grace" (US title: Pilgrim's Inn) (1948) by British author Elizabeth Goudge, and Riddley Walker(1980) by American author Russell Hoban, incorporate the legend into their plot. It has also inspired the film Imagination.^{[citation needed]}

Saint Eustace is honored in County Kildare, Ireland. There is a church dedicated to him on the campus of Newbridge College in Newbridge, County Kildare, and the schools' logo and motto is influenced by the vision of Saint Eustace; a nearby village is named Ballymore Eustace.^{[citation needed]}

Also St Eustachius church is situated in Pakiapuram villiage, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Sant'Eustachio is also honoured in Tocco da Casauria, a town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The town's church, built in the twelfth century, was dedicated to Saint Eustace. It was rebuilt after being partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1706.^[22]

The German alcoholic digestifJägermeister has a round logo of a shining cross between the antlers of a stag, referring to two saints who had seen such a vision, Hubertus and Eustace.^[23][24]

In Georgian mythology, Saint Eustace became associated with the hunting deity Apsat, patron of game animals.^[25

St. Eusebia. 

Feastday: September 20
Death: 731

Benedictine abbess, slain withher community by the Saracens at Saint-Cyr, France. Forty nuns died with Eusebia.

St. Eusebia may refer to:

• Saint Xenia the Righteous of Rome(died 5th-century AD), Orthodox saint with baptismal name Eusebia
• St. Eusebia (Late 3rd century), virgin-martyr in Bergamo, Italy
• St. Eusebia of Douai (died ca. 680), abbess at Hamay-les-Marchiennes near Arras, France; daughter of Rictrude and Adalbard
• St. Eusebia (Benedictine abbess)(died ca. 731), Benedictine abbess of the Abbey of St. Victor, Marseille, France

St. Dionysius

Feastday: September 20
Death: unknown

Martyr with Privatus in Phrygia, in AsiaMinor. No account of this martyrdom survives.

St. Cecilia Yu

Feastday: September 20
Birth: 1761
Death: 1839
Beatified: July 5,1925
Canonized: May 6, 1984 by Pope John Paul II

Cecilia Yu So-sa was born in Seoul, , in 1761. Cecilia was a married woman, her children were the Saints Hasang Paul Chong and Jung Hye. When Cecilia was widowed, she was deprived of all her possessions and imprisoned because of her Christian faith. Twelve times she was brought to trial and many times was subjected to flogging. Eventually she died in Bo-jeong prison on Nov. 23.

St. Candida

Feastday: September 20
Death: 300

Martyred virgin of Carthage. She died in the persecution of Emperor Maximian

St. Anna Kim

Feastday: September 20
Canonized: Pope John Paul II

The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholic Christians during the 19th century in Korea. Between 8,000 - 10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period, 103 of whom were canonized en massein May 1984.^[1] In addition, Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions were declared "Venerable" on 7 February 2014, and on 16 August 2014, they were beatified by Pope Francis during the Asian Youth Day in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul, South Korea. There are further moves to beatify Catholics who were killed by communists for their faith in the 20th century during the Korean War.^[2]

Contents

• 1 Background
• 2 History
• 3 Individual martyrs
  • 3.1 Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and 101 Companions
  • 3.2 Paul Yun Ji Chung and 123 companions
  • 3.3 Biography of major martyrs
• 4 Legacy
• 5 Korean Martyrs Museum-Shrine
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 Bibliography
• 9 External links

Background

At the end of the 18th century, Korea was ruled by the Joseon Dynasty. It was a society based on Confucianism and its hierarchical, class relationships. There was a small minority of privileged scholars and nobility while the majority were commoners paying taxes, providing labour, and manning the military, all above a slave class.

Even though it was scholars who first introduced Christianity to Korea, it was the ordinary people who flocked to the new religion. The new believers called themselves Chonju Kyo Udul, literally "Friends of the Teaching of God of Heaven". The term "friends" was the only term in the Confucian understanding of relationships which implied equality.^[3]

History

During the early 17th century, Christian literature written in Chinese was imported from China to Korea. On one of these occasions, around 1777, Christian literature obtained from Jesuits in China led educated Korean Christians to study.^[4] Although no Koreans were converted to Catholicism by these books until the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the ideas of the Catholic priests espoused in them were debated and denounced as heterodox as early as 1724.^[5]

When a Chinese priest managed to secretly enter the country a dozen years later, he found 4,000 Catholics, none of whom had ever seen a priest.^[4] The dynamic Catholic communities were led almost entirely by educated laypeoplefrom the aristocracy, as they were the only ones who could read the books that were written in Hanja.

The Christian community sent a delegation on foot to Beijing, 750 miles away, to ask the city's Bishop for bishops and priests. Eventually, two Chinese priests were sent, but their ministry was short-lived, and another forty years passed before the Paris Foreign Mission Society began its work in Korea with the arrival of Father Maubant in 1836. Paul Chong Hasang, Augustine Yu Chin-gil and Charles Cho Shin-chol had made several visits to Beijing in order to find ways of introducing missionaries into Korea. Since the persecution of 1801, there had been no priest to care for the Christian community. Serious dangers awaited the missionaries who dared to enter Korea. The bishops and priests who confronted this danger, as well as the lay Christians who aided and sheltered them, were in constant threat of losing their lives.^[6]

Saint Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert, M.E.P.

Bishop Laurent Imbertand ten other French missionaries were the first Paris Foreign Mission Society priests to enter Korea and to embrace a different culture. During the daytime, they kept in hiding, but at night they travelled about on foot attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful and administering the sacraments. The first Korean priest, Andrew Kim Taegon, succeeded in entering Korea as a missionary. However, thirteen months after his ordination he was put to death by the sword in 1846 at the age of 26.^[6]

The Catholics gathering in one place with no distinction on the basis of class were perceived to undermine 'hierarchical Confucianism', the ideology which held the State together. The new learning was seen to be subversive of the establishment and this gave rise to systematic suppression and persecution. The suffering the believers endured is well known through official documents which detail trials and the sentences. There were four major persecutions – the last one in 1866, at which time there were only 20,000 Catholics in Korea. 10,000 had died. Those figures give a sense of the enormous sacrifice of the early Korean Catholics. (Other Christian denominations did not enter Korea until sometime later).^[3] The vast majority of the martyrs were simple lay people, including men and women, married and single, old and young.

More than 10,000 martyrs died in persecutions which extended over more than one hundred years. Of all these martyrs, seventy-nine were beatified in 1925. They had died in the persecutions of 1839 (Ki-hae persecution), 1846 (Pyong-o persecution) and 1866 (Pyong-in persecution). In addition, twenty-four martyrs were beatified in 1968 on the 6th of October.^[7] All together, 103 martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II on 6 May 1984.^[6] In a break with tradition, the ceremony did not take place in Rome, but in Seoul. Their feast day is September 20. Currently, Korea has the 4th largest number of saints in the Catholic world.^[8]

Kim Taegon Statue in Jeoldu-san

From the last letter of Andrew Kim Taegŏn to his parish as he awaited martyrdom with a group of twenty persons:

My dear brothers and sisters, know this: Our Lord JesusChrist upon descending into the world took innumerable pains upon and constituted the holy Church through his own passion and increases it through the passion of its faithful....Now, however, some fifty or sixty years since the holy Church entered into our Korea, the faithful suffer persecutions again. Even today persecution rages, so that many of our friends of the same faith, among whom I am myself, have been thrown into prison....Since we have formed one body, how can we not be saddened in our innermost hearts? How can we not experience the pain of separation in our human faculties? However, as Scripture says, God cares for the least hair of our heads, and indeed he cares with his omniscience; therefore, how can persecution be considered as anything other than the command of God, or his prize, or precisely his punishment?...We are twenty here, and thanks be to God all are still well. If anyone is killed, I beg you not to forget his family. I have many more things to say, but how can I express them with pen and paper? I make an end to this letter. Since we are now close to the struggle, I pray you to walk in faith, so that when you have finally entered into Heaven, we may greet one another. I leave you my kiss of love.

In the early 1870s, Father Claude-Charles Dallet compiled a comprehensive history of the Catholic Church in Korea, largely from the manuscripts of martyred Bishop Antoine Daveluy. The Korean Martyrs were known for the staunchness, sincerity, and number of their converts. An English lawyer and sinologist Edward Harper Parker observed that

Coreans, unlike Chinese and Japanese, make the most staunch and devoted converts.... The Annamese make better converts than either Chinese or Japanese, whose tricky character, however, they share; but they are gentler and more sympathetic; they do not possess the staunch masculinity of the Coreans.^[9]

According to Ernst Oppert,

An observation, founded upon many years' experience, may not be out of place here, and that is, that among all Asiatic nationalities there is probably none more inclined to be converted to Christianity than the Corean....He becomes a Christian from conviction, not from any mercenary motives.^[10]

Bishop and martyr Simeon Francois Berneux wrote,

The Corean possesses the most perfect dispositions for receiving the faith. Once convinced, he accepts and attaches himself to it, in spite of all sacrifices it may cost him.^[11]

Rev. Francis Goldie stated,

Certainly few countries, if any, have to tell of such a painful apostolate, or of one which has had such success. Japan alone in later days can boast a martyrology at all to compare with that of Corea in the number of the slain, or in the heroism of those who died for Christ.^[12]

Individual martyrs

Stela to the members of theParis Foreign Missions Societywho were martyred in Korea.

Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and 101 Companions

The Christian community first began to take shape when Yi Sung-hun started to study Christian doctrine by himself and was eventually baptized and given the name Peter in 1784. Because of their belief in the Christian God, the first Korean Christians were persecuted repeatedly, rejected by their families, and suffered a loss of their social rank. Despite persecutions, the faith continued to spread.

The Christian community in Korea was given the assistance of two Chinese priests, but their ministry was short-lived, and another forty years passed before the Paris Foreign Mission Society began its work in Korea with the arrival of Father Mauban in 1836. A delegation was selected and sent to Beijing on foot, 750 miles, in order to ask the Bishop of Beijing to send them bishops and priests.

The same appeal was made to the Pope in Rome. Serious dangers awaited the missionaries who dared to enter Korea. The bishops and priests who confronted this danger, as well as the lay Christians who aided and sheltered them, were in constant threat of losing their lives.

In fact, until the granting of religious liberty in Korea in 1886, there was a multitude of "disciples who shed their blood, in imitation of Christ Our Lord, and who willingly submitted to death, for the salvation of the world" (Lumen Gentium, 42). Among those who died, and were later labelled as martyrs, were eleven priests and ninety-two lay people who would be canonized as saints.

Bishop Laurent Imbert and ten other French missionaries were the first Paris Foreign Mission Society priests to enter Korea and to embrace a different culture for the love of God. During the daytime, they kept in hiding, but at night they travelled about on foot attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful and administering the sacraments.

The first Korean priest, Andrew Kim Tae-gon, prompted by his faith in God and his love for the Christian people, found a way to make the difficult task of a missionary entry into Korea. However, just thirteen months after his ordination he was put to death by the sword when he was just 26 years old and the holy oils of ordination were still fresh on his hands.

Paul Chong Ha-sang, Augustine Yu Chin-gil and Charles Cho Shin-chol had made several visits to Beijing in order to find new ways of introducing missionaries into Korea. Since the persecution of 1801, there had been no priest to care for the Christian community. Finally, they succeeded in opening a new chapter in the history of the extension of the Church in Korea with the arrival of a bishop and ten priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society.

Among the martyrs honored were fifteen virgins, including the two sisters Agnes Kim Hyo-ju and Columba Kim Hyo-im who loved Jesus with undivided heart (I Cor.7, 32–34). These women, in an era when Christian religious life was still unknown in Korea, lived in community and cared for the sick and the poor. Similarly, John Yi Kwang-hyol died a martyr's death after having lived a life of celibacy in consecrated service to the Church.

It is also important to recall in a special way some of the other martyrs who were canonized that day: Damien Nam Myong-hyok and Maria Yi Yon-hui were models of family life; John Nam Chong-sam, though of high social rank, was a model of justice, chastity and poverty; John Pak Hu-jae who, after he lost his parents in the persecutions, learnt to survive by making straw sandals; Peter Kwon Tug-in who devoted himself to meditation; Anna Pak A-gi who, although she did not have a deep grasp of Christian doctrine, was wholly devoted to Jesus and His Blessed Mother; and finally, Peter Yu Tae-chol who at the tender age of 13, bravely confessed his faith and died a martyr.

More than 10,000 martyrs died in persecutions which extended over more than one hundred years. Of all these martyrs, seventy-nine were beatified in 1925. They had died in the persecutions of 1839 (Ki-hae persecution), 1846 (Pyong-o persecution) and 1866 (Pyong-in persecution). In addition, twenty-four martyrs were beatified in 1968. All together, 103 martyrs were canonized on 6 May 1984 - on the shores of the Han River and in view of the martyrs' shrines at Saenamto and Choltusan, where they went to their eternal reward

• Peter Yi Hoyong
• Protasius Chong Kukbo
• Magdalena Kim Obi
• Anna Pak Agi
• Agatha Yi Sosa
• Agatha Kim Agi
• Augustine Yi Kwanghon
• Barbara Han Agi
• Lucia Pak Huisun
• Damian Nam Myonghyok
• Peter Kwon Tugin
• Joseph Chang Songjib
• Barbara Kim
• Barbara Yi
• Rosa Kim Nosa
• Martha Kim Songim
• Teresa Yi Maeim
• Anna Kim Changgum
• John Baptist Yi Kwang-nyol
• Magdalena Yi Yonghui
• Lucia Kim Nusia
• Maria Won Kwiim
• Maria Pak Kunagi
• Barbara Kwon Hui
• Johannes Pak Hujae
• Barbara Yi Chonghui
• Maria Yi Yonhui
• Agnes Kim Hyochu
• Francis Choe Kyonghwan
• Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert
• Pierre-Philibert Maubant
• Jacques-Honoré Chastan
• Paul Chong Hasang
• Augustine Yu Chinkil
• Magdalena Ho Kyeim
• Sebastian Nam Igwan
• Kim Iulitta
• Agatha Chon Kyonghyob
• Charles Cho Shinchol
• Ignatius Kim Chejun
• Magdalena Pak Pongson
• Perpetua Hong Kimju
• Columba Kim Hyoim
• Lucia Kim Kopchu
• Catherine Yi
• Magdalena Cho
• Peter Yu Tae-chol
• Cecilia Yu Sosa
• Barbara Cho Chungi
• Magdalena Han Yongi
• Peter Choe Changhub
• Benedicta Hyong Kyongnyon
• Elizabeth Chong Chonghye
• Barbara Ko Suni
• Magdalena Yi Yongdok
• Teresa Kim
• Agatha Yi
• Stephen Min Kuk-ka
• Andrew Chong Hwagyong
• Paul Ho Hyob
• Augustine Pak Chongwon
• Peter Hong Pyongju
• Magdalena Son Sobyok
• Agatha Yi Kyong-i
• Maria Yi Indok
• Agatha Kwon Chin-i
• Paul Hong Yongju
• Johannes Yi Munu
• Barbara Choe Yongi
• Anthony Kim Songu
• Andrew Kim Taegon
• Charles Hyon Songmun
• Peter Nam Kyongmun
• Lawrence Han Ihyong
• Susanna U Surim
• Joseph Im Chipek
• Teresa Kim Imi
• Agatha Yi Kannan
• Catherina Chong Choryom
• Peter Yu Chongnyul
• Siméon-François Berneux
• Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières
• Pierre-Henri Dorie
• Louis Beaulieu
• John Baptist Nam Chongsam
• John Baptist Chon Changun
• Peter Choe Hyong
• Mark Chong Uibae
• Alexis U Seyong
• Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy
• Martin-Luc Huin
• Pierre Aumaitre
• Joseph Chang Chugi
• Lucas Hwang Soktu
• Thomas Son Chasuhn
• Bartholomew Chong Munho
• Peter Cho Hwaso
• Peter Son Sonji
• Peter Yi Myongso
• Joseph Han Wonso
• Peter Chong Wonji
• Joseph Cho Yunho
• John Yi Yun-il

Paul Yun Ji Chung and 123 companions

Yun Ji Chung Paul and his 123 companions have been the foundation of the Korean Catholic Church until this day. They played a pivotal role in evangelization with their pious faith which contributed to the growth of faithful in Korea. The testimony of their faith attributed as great encouragement to all the believers in the early stage of Catholicism in Korea, where many suffered martyrdom.

Among Yun Ji Chung Paul and his fellow 123 Martyrs, fifty three of most of them suffered from persecution during the Shinyoo persecution period(1801). Prior to Shinyoo persecution, three Martyrs during Shinhae persecution(1791), three Martyrs during Eulmyo persecution(1795) and eight Martyrs were persecuted during the Jeongsa persecution(1797). Martyrs persecuted after the Shinyoo persecution are one Martyr in 1841, twelve(1815) and two(1819) respectively during the Eulhae persecution, four in Jeonghae persectution(1827), eighteen in Kihae persecution(1839), twenty during the Byeongin persecution(1866–1888). Regionally persecution was executed throughout the country. In the capital of Chosun, Hanyang, 38, Gyeongsan province 29, Jeongra province 24, Choongchung province 18, Gyeonggi province 12, Gangwon province 3. Hanyang, the capital was the region where most severe persecution was conducted.

The 124 Martyrs exhibited astonishing bravery in faith and witnessed the Love of God with their lives. Martyrs' confession of faith for love in Jesus Christ culminated with the sacrifice of their lives. Yun Ji Chung was the first Martyr during the Shinhae persecution which occurred in 1791, in the 15th year under the reign of King Jeong(1791). Yun Ji Chung Paul testified God as the "Almighty Father of all mankind". He testified "A man can go against a King or their parents, but never can I disobey the Almighty Lord, our Father". Yun strongly believed that he can glorify the Lord through his death. We must take a moment to reflect on the historical background of Chosun Dynasty. It was the time when fidelity towards parents and loyalty to the King dominated common value. Our Martyrs respected the King and loved their parents but their priority was the profound faith they had in God. Their love and faith in the Almighty Father ousted materialism and even mankind. Yun Ji Chung is distinguished as the representative of his fellow Martyrs because he was the very first Martyr from the land where Christianity, unprecedentedly sprout from laity without missionaries.

The abundant fruits of the 124 Martyrs continue to grow vividly not only in their dioceses, but throughout the whole Korean Church now until today. Many Catholics and their shepherds are inspired by the faith and love they have shown. Their testimony of faith came to be recognized immediately after the Beatification of the 103 Saints presided by John Paul II in 1984.

Biography of major martyrs

Yun Ji-chung Paul (1759–1791): Yun Ji-chung Paul, the first Chosun martyr killed for his Catholic faith, was born in 1759 to a noble family in Jinsan, Jeolla-do. Yun Ji-heon Francis, who was martyred during the Shinyu Persecution of 1801, was his younger brother.

In 1783, Yun passed the first state examination and learned about Catholicism for the first time through his cousin Jung Yak Yong John. After being baptized in 1787, he preached the Catholic doctrine to his mother, younger brother, and cousin Kwon Sang Yeon James. He also kept in touch with Yoo Hang Geom Augustine to keep up mission work.

In 1791, Bishop Gouvea of Beijing ordered a ban on traditional ancestral rites within his diocese. Yun Ji Chung and Kwon Sang Yeon, in accordance with the Church's commands, set their families ancestral tablets on fire. Chung's mother died the following year. She requested to receive a Catholic funeral which her son duly provided for her. These actions angered the royal family.

News of Yun's actions led to dispute in the royal court. In the end, Jeongjo backed the Noron faction push to oppress Catholicism and ordered the arrest of Yun and Kwon.

The governor of Jinsan went to Yun's house. He discovered the absence of the family's ancestral plates. At the time the pair were in hiding. Upon hearing that Yuns's uncle had been taken into custody they handed themselves into the authorities.

In the face of calls to renounce their Catholic faith the pair refused. The governor judged that getting them to abandon their religion was beyond him. They were sent to a government building in Jeonju. The pair continued to refuse apostasy despite interrogation and torture. An official report on the situation was delivered to the royal court. Opinion within the court was in favour of the death penalty. Jeongjo supported this view and ordered their execution. On the 8th of the December 1791 Yun and Kwon were beheaded.

This episode is referred to as the 'Jinsan incident'.

Fr. Jacob Zhou Wenmo (1752–1801): The first missionary priest to be dispatched to Chosun. Born in Suzhou, China in 1752, he lost his parents early in life and were raised by his grandmother. He entered Catholic by himself and became a priest as one of the first graduates at Beijing Archdiocese seminary. At that time, Bishop Gouvea in Beijing was planning to send a clergy to Chosun. He chose Father Ju, who had a strong faith and looked similar to Chosun people. After leaving Beijing in February 1794, Father Ju waited at Yodong area until the Amnokgang River froze enough to cross across. On the appointed date, he went to a town located on the border between China and Chosun to meet secret envoys sent from Chosun and entered Chosun on the night of December 24. Since then, Father Ju stayed at the house of a faithful to learn Hangul, the Korean alphabets. On Easter of 1795, he held a mass with the faithful for the first time. However, after his entry was revealed, he escaped to female President Kang Wan Sook (Colomba)'s house and continued to pray in many areas in secrecy. The number of the faithful increased to 10,000 after six years but as the Catholic Persecution of 1801 occurred and the faithful were forced to confess the location of Father Ju, he decided to surrender on March 11 of that year. On May 31, Father Ju was decapitated at Saenamteo area near Han River at the age of 49.

Yun Yoo Il Paul (1760–1795): A secret envoy from Beijing who helped missionary to enter Chosun. He was born in Yeoju, Kyungki-do in 1760. After moving to Yanggeun, he encountered Catholic while studying under Kwon Chul Shin. He learned Catholic doctrine from Kwon Il Shin, the younger brother of Kwon Chul Shin, and entered into Catholic. He then preached the doctrine to his family. In 1789, Yun Yoo Il was selected as a secret envoy by the church leaders to report the situation of Chosun church to Bishop Gouvea. Thus, he went to Beijing two times: in 1789 and in 1790. In 1791, Bishop Gouvea's plan to dispatch a priest failed and persecution took place in Chosun. Nonetheless, Yun Yoo Il continued to endeavor to dispatch a priest. In 1794, he finally succeeded in bringing Father Ju Mun Mo to Chosun. Since then, he was responsible for keeping in contact with Beijing church. In 1795, Yun Yoo Il was arrested along with Ji Hwang (Sabas), Choi In Gil (Mathew). They were tortured to tell the location of Father Ju, but their strong endurance and wise response rather confused the persecutors. As a result, the three of them were beaten to death on June 28 of that year, when Yun Yoo Il was 35, Ji Hwang 28, and Choi In Gil 30.

Jeong Yak Jong Augustinus (1760–1801): The first Catholic lay theologian in Korea. In 1760, he was born into a family of scholars in Majae (current Neungnae-ri Joan-myeon, Namyangju-si Gyeonggi-go). He is the father of Jeong Chul Sang(Charles ?-1801) who will be beatified together with the 123 Blessed and St. Jeong Ha Sang Paul (martyred in 1839), who was declared saint in 1984. After learning Catholic doctrine from his older brother Jeong Yak Jeon in 1786, he moved to Yanggeon Bunwon (current Bunwon-ri, Namjeong-myeon, Gwangju-gun, Gyeonggi-go) to live a life of faith and preached a doctrine to his neighbors while participating in church activities. After Father Ju Mun Mo came in 1794, Jeong Yak Jong often visited Han Yang to help church work. He also wrote two easy Hangul textbooks called 'Jugyo-yoji' a Catechism in the Korean language and distributed them to Christians with Father Ju's approval. Moreover, he became the first president of a layperson association called 'Myeongdo-hoe' which was organized by Father Ju. When persecution began in his hometown in 1800, Jeong Yak Jong and his family moved to Han Yang. However, Catholic Persecution of 1801 began in the following year and Jeong Yak Jong was arrested. As he tried to preach the righteousness of Catholic doctrine to persecutors, he was decapitated at Seosomun in 15 days after he was arrested. When he was martyred, he said "I'd rather die looking up at the sky than to die looking down at the ground" and was decapitated while looking up at the sky. That was 8 April 1801, when he was at age 41.

Kang Wan Sook Columba (1761–1801): Female leader of Chosun Catholic. In 1761, she was born to a concubine of a noble family in Naepo area in ChungCheong-do. She learned about Catholic soon after she was married and practiced doctrine by reading Catholic books. During the persecution in 1791, she was imprisoned while taking care of the imprisoned faithful. Kang Wan Sook guided her mother-in-law and her son from previous marriage (Hong Pil Joo Phillips, martyred in 1801) to enter Catholic but she could not make her husband enter Catholic. Later, when her husband got a concubine, Kang Wan Sook and her husband lived separately. After hearing that the faithful in Han Yang are well-informed with Catholic doctrine, she moved to Han Yang with her mother-in-law and her son. She provided financial support to Christians working on recruiting a clergy and was baptized by Father Ju Mun Mo. Knowing her fine personality, Father Ju appointed Kang Wan Sook as a female President to take care of the faithful. When a persecution in 1795 took place, Kang Wan Sook took advantage of the fact that persecutors cannot search a house owned by a woman and let Father Ju to take refuge in her house. Her house was also used for the faithful's assembly. On April 6, 1801, Kang Wan Sook helped Father Ju to escape while being arrested. Although persecutors tried to trace Father Ju's whereabouts through her, she refused to confess. On 2 July, she was decapitated outside Seosomun at age 40.

Yu Hang-geom Augustine (1756–1801): The priest of Ho Nam. Yu Hang-geum Augustine was born in 1756 in Chonam, Jeonju. He learned the catechism soon after Catholicism was introduced to Korea in 1784 and became a Catholic. His sons Yu Jung-cheol John, Yu Mun-seok John and his daughter-in-law Yi Sun-i Lutgarda and his nephew Yu Jung-seong Matthew will be beatified along with Yu Hang-geom Augustine. He showed compassion and gave alms to poor neighbors as well as to his servants. Augustine Yu was appointed as pastor of Jeolla-do region when in the spring of 1786, the leaders of the Catholics held a meeting and appointed clergy at their own discretion. Afterwards, Augustine Yu returned to his hometown and celebrated Mass and administered the Sacraments to the faithful. However, after a while, the leaders of the Catholics understood that such an act was a sacrilege. As soon as this was brought to his attention, he stopped immediately. When the Persecution of 1801 broke out, Augustine Yu, who was recognized as the head of the Church in the Jeolla-do region, was first to be arrested. He was taken to Seoul (Hanyang) from Jeon ju where he underwent interrogation and torture at the Police Headquarters. However, since he was already determined to die a martyr, he neither betrayed the other believers nor said anything that would harm the Church. The persecutors, despite all their efforts, could not et any of the information they were looking for. Hence, they charged him with the crime of treason and ordered that he be executed. With this decision, Augustine Yu was transferred back to Jeonju, where he was hacked to pieces outside the South Gate of Jeonju.

Hwang Il-gwang Simon (1757–1802): Hwang Il-gwang Simon was born in Hongju, Chungcheong-do to a low-class family. Around 1792, he moved to Hongsan, where he went to see Yi Jon-chang Louis Gonzaga to learn about the Catholic teaching. After he understood the faith, he left his hometown and moved to Gyeongsang-do to have more freedom to practice his religious life. The Catholics knew about the social status of Simon Hwang, but they welcomed him with open hearts and surrounded him with Christian charity. On receiving such treatment he sometimes made jokes as follows: "Here, everybody treats me as a human being despite my low-class status. Now, I believe that Heaven exists here and hereafter." In 1800 Simon Hwang moved to the neighboring house of Jeong Yak-jong Augustine and when Augustine Jeong moved to Seoul (Hanyang), he also moved to Seoul (Hanyang) with his younger brother and made his living by selling firewood. In 1801, Simon Hwang was arrested while he was on his way to the mountain to get firewood. By stating that the Catholic religion is a 'holy religion', he was cruelly beaten to the point that one of his legs was broken. Simon Hwang was then transferred to his hometown Hong ju and was beheaded. It was on 30 January 1802 when Simon Hwang was 45 years old.

Yi Sun-I Lutgarda (1782–1802): A couple who kept their virginity through faith Yi Sun-I Lutgarda was born in 1782 to a well-known noble family. Her brothers Yi Gyeong-do Charles (martyred in 1801) and Yi Gyeong-eon Paul (martyred in 1827), and her husband Yu Jung-cheol John (martyred in 1801) will be beatified with her. Yi Yun-ha. Matthew, Lutgarda Yi's father, inherited the scholarship of his maternal grandfather Yi Ik who was a renowned scholar of the time. Matthew Yi became a Catholic in 1784, soon after Catholicism was introduced to Korea, when he met Kwon Chol-sin, and Kwon Il-sin. Lutgarda Yi received her First Holy Communion from Father Zhou Wen-mo James and made a vow of chastity. However, in the society of that time, it was extremely difficult for a young woman to remain single. When she was 15 years old, Lutgarda confessed to her mother that she had decided to keep her vow of chastity for God. Her mother agreed with her decision and consulted Father James Zhou. Father James Zhou remembered that Yu Jung-cheol John also wanted to live a life of celibacy. Hence, he immediately sent a messenger and arranged their marriage. In 1798, Lutgarda Yi went to her husband's hometown, Chonam in Jeonju and made a vow to live a celibate life. During Shinyu Persecution in 1801, Yu Hang-gom Augustine, her father-in-law, was first arrested. Lutgarda Yi was arrested later and was taken to Jeonju. Lutgarda Yi was condemned to exile and left for Hamgyeong-do. However soon the police followed them and arrested them again. On 31 January 1802, Lutgarda Yi was taken to the execution ground in Jeonju, called 'Supjeongi' and was beheaded. Lutgarda Yi was 20 years old. The letter she wrote while she was imprisoned in Jeonju still remains until today and testifies for the values of Catholics of the time.

Kim Jin-hu Pius (1739–1814): The ancestor of the St. Kim Taegon Andrew. Kim Jin-hu Pius was born in Solmoe, Chungcheong-do. He was the great-grandfather of St. Kim Taegon Andrew and the father of Kim Jong-han Andrew, who was martyred in 1816 and who will be beatified with the 123 Blessed. Pius Kim encountered Catholicism when his eldest son learned the catechism from Yi Jon-chang Gonzaga and taught it to his brothers. Then, Pius Kim was about 50 years old. As he obtained a small government post from the governor, he strongly refused the advice of his children. However, as his sons kept persuading him, he gradually drawn towards Jesus Christ and quitted his government position to focus on fulfilling religious duties. When Pius Kim was arrested during the Sinhae persecution in 1791, he professed his faith in God. He was arrested four to five more times but was released each time. He was also arrested during the Shinyu Persecution in 1801, but was exiled and set free. Pius Kim was arrested again in 1805 and was taken to Haemi. This time, he behaved like a real Catholic and professed his faith in God without hesitation. He stayed in prison for a long time without being sentenced to death. In prison, the officials and prison guards respected him for his noble and dignified personality and conduct. He spent 10 years in prison, during which he endured the sufferings and pains of prison. He died in prison on 1 December 1814 at the age of 75.

Yi Seong-rye (1801–1840): Mother who inherited faith to her children She was born in 1801 in Hongju, Chungcheong-do. She was from the family of Louis Gonzaga Yi Jon-chang. At the age of 17, she married St. Francis Choe Kyeong-hwan and lived in Darakgol, Hongju. In 1821 she gave birth to their first son, Thomas Choe Yang-up. Due to the danger of persecution the family had to move frequently but Yi Seong-rye told biblical stories to her children and taught them to endure difficulties and to be patient. After settling down in Surisan (currently Gunpo-city, Gyeonggi-do) she helped her husband to set up the Christian village. Meanwhile, her son Thomas Choe Yang-up was chosen to be a candidate for the seminarian and was sent to Macau to study theology. In 1839, during Gihae persecution her husband went back and forth Hanyang (now Seoul) to take care of the bodies of the Martyrs, she supported her husband and finally was arrested by the police with her whole family in Surisan. She suffered painfully not because of the torture, but because of her maternal love for her new-born baby who was nearly starved to death due to lack of milk from his mother. Yi could no longer abandon her baby so she yielded to defy her faith and was released from prison. When her eldest son left to China to be a seminarian, she was imprisoned once again. When she was sentenced to death, with divine grace and prayers from her Catholic friends, she overcame all the temptation and was sent to Danggogae (now Wonhyoro 2-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul) to be beheaded at the age of 39.

• Paul Yun Ji Chung
• Jacob Gwon Sangyeon
• Peter Won Sijang
• Paul Yun Yuil
• Matthew Choe Ingil
• Sabas Jihwang
• Paul Yi Dogi
• Francis Bang
• Lawrence Pak Chwideuk
• Jacob Won Sibo
• Peter Jeong Sanpil
• Francis Bae Gwangyeom
• Martin In Eonmin
• Francis Yi Bohyeon
• Peter Jo Yongsam
• Barbara Simagi
• Johannes Choe Changhyeon
• Augustine Jeong Yakjong
• Francis Xavier Hong Gyoman
• Thomas Choe Pilgong
• Luke Hong Nakmin
• Marcellinus Choe Changju
• Martin Yi Jungbae
• Johannes Won Gyeongdo
• Jacob Yun Yuo
• Barnabas Kim Ju
• Peter Choe Pilje
• Lucia Yun Unhye
• Candida Jeong Bokhye
• Thaddeus Jeong Inhyeok
• Carol Jeong Cheolsang
• Father Jacob Zhou Wenmu, Missionary from Qing dynasty
• Paul Yi Gukseung
• Columba Gang Wansuk
• Susanna Gang Gyeongbok
• Matthew Kim Hyeonu
• Bibiana Mun Yeongin
• Juliana Kim Yeoni
• Anthony Yi Hyeon
• Ignatius Choe Incheol
• Agatha Han Sinae
• Barbara Jeong Sunmae
• Agatha Yun Jeomhye
• Andrew Kim Gwangok
• Peter Kim Jeongduk
• Stanislaus Han Jeongheum
• Matthew Choe Yeogyeom
• Andrew Gim Jonggyo
• Philip Hong Pilju
• Augustine Yu Hanggeom
• Francis Yun Jiheon
• Johannes Yu Jungcheol
• Johannes Yu Munseok
• Paul Hyeon Gyeheum
• Francis Kim Sajip
• Gervasius Son Gyeongyun
• Carol Yi Gyeongdo
• Simon Kim Gyewan
• Barnabas Jeong Gwangsu
• Anthony Hong Ikman
• Thomas Han Deokun
• Simon Hwang Ilgwang
• Leo Hong In
• Sebastian Kwon Sangmun
• Lutgrada Yi Suni
• Matthew Yu Jungseong
• Pius Kim Jinhu
• Agatha Magdalena Kim Yundeok
• Alexis Kim Siu
• Francis Choe Bonghan
• Simon Kim Gangi
• Andrew Seo Seokbong
• Francis Kim Huiseong
• Barbara Ku Seongyeol
• Anna Yi Simi
• Peter Ko Seongdae
• Joseph Ko Seongun
• Andrew Kim Jonghan
• Jacob Kim Hwachun
• Peter Jo Suk
• Teresa Kwon
• Paul Yi Gyeongeon
• Paul Pak Gyeonghwa
• Ambrose Kim Sebak
• Richard An Gunsim
• Andrew Yi Jaehaeng
• Andrew Pak Saui
• Andrew Kim Sageon
• Job Yi Ileon
• Peter Sin Taebo
• Peter Yi Taegwon
• Paul Jeong Taebong
• Peter Gim Daegwon
• Johannes Cho Haesong
• Anastasia Kim Joi
• Barbara Kim Joi
• Anastasia Yi Bonggeum
• Brigida Choe
• Protasius Hong Jaeyeong
• Barbara Choe Joi
• Magdalena Yi Joi
• Jacob Oh Jongrye
• Maria Yi Seongrye
• Thomas Jang
• Thaddeus Ku Hanseon
• Paul Oh Banji
• Mark Sin Seokbok
• Stephan Kim Wonjung
• Benedict Song
• Peter Song
• Anna Yi
• Felix Peter Kim Giryang
• Matthias Pak Sanggeun
• Anthony Jeong Chanmun
• Johannes Yi Jeongsik
• Martin Yang Jaehyeon
• Peter Yi Yangdeung
• Luke Kim Jongryun
• Jacob Heo Inbaek
• Francis Pak
• Margarita Oh
• Victor Pak Daesik
• Peter Joseph Yun Bongmun

Legacy

Pope John Paul II, speaking at the canonization, said, "The Korean Church is unique because it was founded entirely by lay people. This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution. Thus, in less than a century, it could boast of 10,000 martyrs. The death of these martyrs became the leaven of the Church and led to today's splendid flowering of the Church in Korea. Even today their undying spirit sustains the Christians in the Church of silence in the north of this tragically divided land".^[4] After the canonization of the 103 Martyrs, the Catholic Church in Korea felt that the martyrs who died in the other persecutions also need to be recognized. In 2003, the beatification process for 124 martyrs who died in persecutions between 1791 and 1888 began.^{[citation needed]}

They were declared Venerable by Pope Francis on 7 February 2014. The group is headed by Paul Yun Ji-Chung, a nobleman who converted to Catholicism and refused to have his deceased mother buried under the traditional Confucian rite. His refusal led to a massive persecution of Christians called the Sinhae Persecution in 1791. Paul was beheaded on 8 December 1791, together with his cousin, James Kwon Sang-yeon. They were the first members of the Korean Nobility to be killed for the faith. Among the martyrs in this group are Fr. James Zhou Wen-mo (1752–1801), a Chinese priest who secretly ministered to the Christians in Korea; Augustine Jeong Yak-Jong (1760–1801), the husband of St. Cecilia Yu So-sa and father of Sts. Paul Chong Ha-sang and Elizabeth Chong Chong-hye; Columba Kang Wan-suk (1761–1801), known as the "catechist of the Korean Martyrs"; Augustine Yu Hang-geom (1756–1801), also known as the "apostle of Jeolla-do"; and Maria Yi Seong-rye (1801–1840), the wife of St. Francis Choe Kyeong-hwan. Also included in the group are Augustine Yu Hang-geom's son John Yu Jeong-cheol (1779–1801) and his wife Lutgarda Yi Sun-i (1782–1802). They both decided to live celibate lives in order to fully dedicate themselves to God, but the Confucian society, which greatly valued furthering the family line, made it impossible for them to live as celibates. Fr. James Zhou introduced the two to each other and suggested them to marry each other and live as a "virgin couple". The two were married in 1797 and were martyred 4 years later.^{[citation needed]}

Korean Martyrs Museum-Shrine

The Museum-Shrine, which contains rooms for liturgical celebration and prayer, was built in 1967 on the site in Jeoldusan, where many of the Korean martyrs died from 1866 to 1873. The Shrine-Museum presents numerous historical documents, visual reconstructions, photographs and documentaries. The Christian community suffered harsh persecutions, especially in the second half of the 1800s. In 2004 the Archdiocese of Seoul opened its investigation into the cause for beatification of the Servant of God Paul Yun Ji-Chung and his 123 companions who in 1791 were tortured and killed in odium fidei, in hatred of the faith

Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions

Feastday: September 20

Feastday: September 20

The evangelization of Korea began during the 17th century through a group of lay persons. A strong vital Christiancommunity flourished there under lay leadership until missionaries arrived from the Paris Foreign Mission Society.

During the terrible persecutions that occurred in the 19th century (in 1839, 1866, and 1867), one hundred and three members of the Christian community gave their lives as martyrs. Outstanding among these witnesses to the faith were the first Korean priest and pastor, Andrew Kim Taegon, and the lay apostle, Paul Chong Hasang.

Among the other martyrs were a few bishops and priests, but for the most part lay people, men and women, married and unmarried, children, young people, and the elderly. All suffered greatly for the Faith and consecrated the rich beginnings of the Church of Korea with their blood as martyrs.

Pope John Paul II, during his trip to Korea, canonized these martyrs on May 6, 1984, and inserted their feast into the Calendar of the Universal Church.

This is a Korean name; the family nameis Kim. The baptismal name is Andrew.

Saint Andrew Kim Taegon (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846), generally referred to as Saint Andrew Kim in English, was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korea, being canonized and made a saint with over 120 others on 6 May 1984. In the late 18th century, Roman Catholicism began to take root slowly in Korea^[2] and was introduced by scholars who visited China and brought back Western books translated into Chinese. In 1836 Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society) arrive,^[3] only to find out that the people there were already practicing Korean Catholics.

Born of yangban, Kim's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai after nine years (1844) by the French bishop Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to practise their faith covertly. Kim was one of several thousand Christians who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were:

This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him.^[4]

Before Ferréol, the first bishop of Korea, died from exhaustion on 3 February 1853, he wanted to be buried beside Kim, stating, "You will never know how sad I was to lose this young native priest. I have loved him as a father loved his son; it is a consolation for me to think of his eternal happiness."^[4]

On 6 May 1984, Pope John Paul IIcanonized Kim along with 102 other Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang, during his trip to Korea. Their feast day is 20 September.

September 20

St. Agatha Chon Kyonghyob

Feastday: September 20

Birth: 1790

Death: 1839

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 

St. Agatha Kim

Feastday: September 20

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 

The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholic Christians during the 19th century in Korea. Between 8,000 - 10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period, 103 of whom were canonized en masse in May 1984.[1] In addition, Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions were declared "Venerable" on 7 February 2014, and on 16 August 2014, they were beatified by Pope Francis during the Asian Youth Day in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul, South Korea. There are further moves to beatify Catholics who were killed by communists for their faith in the 20th century during the Korean War.[2]

St. Agatha Yi

Feastday: September 20

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 

St. Agatha Yi Kannan

Feastday: September 20

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 

St. Agatha Yi Kyong-i

Feastday: September 20

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 

St. Agatha Yi Sosa

Feastday: September 20

Beatified: 5 June 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized: 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II

 

September 20​Saint of the day:Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions​

September 20

​

Saint of the day:

Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions

​

Patron Saint of Korean Clergy

 

Prayer:

​

 

Visit:

Jeoldu-san

 Seoul, South Korea

​

It came into use during the rule of the Daewon-gun in the late 1860s as a place of execution, primarily of native Koreans who had converted to the proscribed Roman Catholic faith. The present day memorial was built in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Byeonin Persecution in dedication of the approximate 8000 executions. In 1984, Pope John Paul II visited the site. Mother Teresa visited a year later. The memorial currently holds approximately 3000 religious relics.

Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions’ Story

​

The first native Korean priest, Andrew Kim Taegon was the son of Christian converts. Following his baptism at the age of 15, Andrew traveled 1,300 miles to the seminary in Macao, China. After six years, he managed to return to his country through Manchuria. That same year he crossed the Yellow Sea to Shanghai and was ordained a priest. Back home again, he was assigned to arrange for more missionaries to enter by a water route that would elude the border patrol. He was arrested, tortured, and finally beheaded at the Han River near Seoul, the capital.

Andrew’s father Ignatius Kim, was martyred during the persecution of 1839, and was beatified in 1925. Paul Chong Hasang, a lay apostle and married man, also died in 1839 at age 45.

Among the other martyrs in 1839 was Columba Kim, an unmarried woman of 26. She was put in prison, pierced with hot tools and seared with burning coals. She and her sister Agnes were disrobed and kept for two days in a cell with condemned criminals, but were not molested. After Columba complained about the indignity, no more women were subjected to it. The two were beheaded. Peter Ryou, a boy of 13, had his flesh so badly torn that he could pull off pieces and throw them at the judges. He was killed by strangulation. Protase Chong, a 41-year-old nobleman, apostatized under torture and was freed. Later he came back, confessed his faith and was tortured to death.

Christianity came to Korea during the Japanese invasion in 1592 when some Koreans were baptized, probably by Christian Japanese soldiers. Evangelization was difficult because Korea refused all contact with the outside world except for taking taxes to Beijing annually. On one of these occasions, around 1777, Christian literature obtained from Jesuits in China led educated Korean Christians to study. A home Church began. When a Chinese priest managed to enter secretly a dozen years later, he found 4,000 Catholics, none of whom had ever seen a priest. Seven years later there were 10,000 Catholics. Religious freedom came to Korea in 1883.

Besides Andrew and Paul, Pope John Paul II canonized 98 Koreans and three French missionaries who had been martyred between 1839 and 1867, when he visited Korea in 1984. Among them were bishops and priests, but for the most part they were lay persons: 47 women and 45 men.

✠ புனிதர் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம் டேகொன் ✠(St. Andrew Kim Taegon)செப்டம்பர் 20

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(செப்டம்பர் 20)

✠ புனிதர் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம் டேகொன் ✠

(St. Andrew Kim Taegon)

கொரியா நாட்டின் பாதுகாவல் புனிதர்:

(Patron Saint of Korea)

பிறப்பு: ஆகஸ்ட் 21, 1821

சொல்மோ, டான்க்ஜின், கொரியா

(Solmoe, Dangjin, Korea)

இறப்பு: செப்டம்பர் 16, 1846 (வயது 25)

ஹேன் நதி, ஹேன்சியோங், ஜோசியோன்

(தற்போது சியோல், தென் கொரியா)

(Han River, Hanseong, Joseon)

(Now Seoul, South Korea)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் திருச்சபை

(Anglican Church)

அருளாளர் பட்டம்: கி.பி. 1925

புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 6, 1984

திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பால்

(Pope John Paul II)

முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:

ச்சோல்டுசான் (மறைசாட்சியின் மலை),

சியோல், தென் கொரியா

(Chŏltusan (Martyr's Mount), Seoul, South Korea)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: செப்டம்பர் 20

பாதுகாவல்: கொரிய மத குருமார்கள் (Korean Clergy)

புனிதர் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம் டேகொன், கொரிய நாட்டில் பிறந்த முதல் கத்தோலிக்க குருவும், கொரிய நாட்டின் பாதுகாவலரும் ஆவார்.

கி.பி. பதினெட்டாம் நூற்றாண்டின் இறுதியில் கொரியாவில் கத்தோலிக்கம் மெதுவாக வேர் விட ஆரம்பித்திருந்தது.

புனிதர் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம், “யங்க்பன்” (Yangban) என்பவருக்கு பிறந்தவர் ஆவார். இவரது பெற்றோர் கிறிஸ்தவர்களாக மனம் மாறியவர்கள். அக்காலத்தில், கிறிஸ்தவம் சம்பந்தமாக பேசுவதுகூட தடை செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது. கிறிஸ்தவ நடவடிக்கைகள் காரணமாக புனிதரின் தந்தை துன்புறுத்தப்பட்டு மறைசாட்சியாக மரித்தார். 

பதினைந்து வயதில் திருமுழுக்கு பெற்ற கிம், போர்ச்சுகீசிய காலனியிலுள்ள (Portuguese colony) பள்ளியில் கல்வி கற்றார். அவர் புனிதராக பட்டமளிக்கப்பட்ட 'லோலோம்போய்', 'பொகவு', 'புலாக்கன்', 'பிலிப்பைன்ஸ்' (Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines) ஆகிய இடங்களிலும் கல்வி கற்றார்.

சுமார் ஒன்பது வருடங்களின் பின்னர், கி.பி. 1844ம் ஆண்டு, அவர் “ஷங்காய்” (Shanghai) நகரில் ஒரு ஃபிரென்ச் ஆயர் (French bishop) “ஜீன்-ஜோசப்” (Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol) என்பவரால் குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு பெற்றார். பின்னர், அவர் மத போதனை செய்வதற்காகவும் நற்செய்தி அறிவிக்கவும் கொரியா திரும்பினார்.

'ஜோசியன்' (Joseon Dynasty) வம்ச காலத்தில் கிறிஸ்தவம் நசுக்கப்பட்டது. எண்ணற்ற கிறிஸ்தவர்கள் துன்புறுத்தப்பட்டு மற்றும் மரண தண்டனை அளிக்கப்பட்டனர். கத்தோலிக்கர்கள் தமது விசுவாசத்தை இரகசியமாக கடைப்பிடிக்க வேண்டியிருந்தது. 

இந்நேரத்தில் துன்புறுத்தப்பட்டு கொல்லப்பட்ட பல்லாயிரம் கிறிஸ்தவர்களில் புனிதர் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம்மும் ஒருவர். கி.பி. 1846ல், தமது 25ஆம் வயதில் ஆண்ட்ரூ கிம் 'சியோல்' (Seoul) நகரருகேயுள்ள “ஹான் நதியில்” (Han River) கோரமாக துன்புறுத்தப்பட்டு தலை துண்டிக்கப்பட்டு கொல்லப்பட்டார்.

*SAINT OF THE DAY* 

Feastday: September 20

*Martyrs of Korea*

The men and women who were slain because they refused to deny Christ in the nation of Korea. The faith was brought to Korea in a unique fashion. The intellectuals of that land, eager to learn about the world, discovered some Christian books procured through Korea's embassy to the Chinese capital. One Korean, Ni-seung-houn, went to Beijing in 1784 to study Catholicism and was baptized Peter Ri. Returning to Korea, he converted many others. In 1791, when these Christians were suddenly viewed as foreign traitors, two of Peter Ri's converts were martyred, men named Paul Youn and Jacques Kuen. The faith endured, however, and when Father James Tsiou, a Chinese, entered Korea three years later, he was greeted by four thousand Catholics. Father Tsiou worked in Korea until 1801 when he was slain by authorities. Three decades later the Prefecture Apostolic of Korea was established by Pope Leo XII, after he received a letter smuggled out of Korea by faithful Catholics. In 1836, Monsignor Lawrence Imbert managed to enter Korea. Others arrived, and they worked until 1839, when a full persecution started, bringing about the martyrdom of the European priests. Young Korean candidates for the priesthood were sent to Macau for ordination. The first native priest, Andrew Kim Taegon, returned to Korea in 1845 and was martyred the following year. Severe persecution followed, and Catholics fled to the mountains, still spreading the faith. In 1864, a new persecution claimed the lives of two bishops, six French missionaries, another Korean priest, and eight thousand Korean Catholics. The Korean martyrs of 1839, 1846, and 1867 were canonized in Korea in 1984 by Pope John Paul II.

✠ புனிதர் யூஸ்டேஸ் ✠(St. Eustace). செப்டம்பர் 20

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(செப்டம்பர் 20)

✠ புனிதர் யூஸ்டேஸ் ✠

(St. Eustace)

மறைசாட்சி/ புனித படைவீரர்:

(Christian martyr and soldier saint)

பிறப்பு: ---

இறப்பு: கி.பி. 118

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Eastern Orthodox Church)

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் திருச்சபை

(Anglican Church)

ஓரியண்டல் மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Oriental Orthodoxy)

பாதுகாவல்: 

கடினமான சூழ்நிலைகள், தீ தடுப்பு, தீயணைப்பு வீரர்கள், வேட்டைக்காரர்கள், வேட்டையாடுதல், சித்திரவதையால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்கள், மேட்ரிட் (Madrid)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: செப்டம்பர் 20

புனிதர் யூஸ்டேஸ், பிளாசிடஸ் (Placidus) என்ற கிரேக்க இயற்பெயர் கொண்டவர். ஆதியில் கிறிஸ்தவரல்லாத இவர், பொது ரோம இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவராவார்.

இவர், 'ட்ராஜன்' (Trajan) எனும் ரோமப் பேரரசரிடம் பணிபுரிந்தார். ஒருமுறை, ரோம் நகரின் அருகே 'டிவோலி' (Tivoli) எனும் இடத்தில் மான் வேட்டையாடினார். அவ்வேளையில், அவர் அதிசயத்தக்கவகையில் ஒரு 'சிலுவைப்பாடு' திருக்காட்சியைக் கண்டார். அதுவும், அந்த 'சிலுவைப்பாடு' காட்சி, இறந்துபோன மானின் இரண்டு கொம்புகளுக்கிடையே நிகழ்ந்தது. உடனடியாக மன மாற்றம் கொண்ட அவர், தமது குடும்பத்தினருடன் திருமுழுக்கு பெற்று கிறிஸ்தவரானார். தமது பெயரை “யூஸ்டேஸ்” (Eustace) என்று மாற்றிக்கொண்டார்.

ரோம பேரரசன் “ஹட்ரியான்” (Hadrian) ஆட்சி செய்த காலத்தில், இவரது மனைவி “தியோபிஷ்டா” (Theopista) மற்றும் அவரின் மகன்கள் “அகபியஸ்” (Agapius), “தியோபிஸ்டஸ்” (Theopistus) என்பவர்களுடன் சேர்த்து துன்புறுத்தப்பட்டார். யூஸ்டேஸ் தன்னிடம் இருந்த உடைமைகள் அனைத்தையும் ஏழைகளுக்கு வழங்கி மறைப்பணியை ஆற்றியுள்ளார். இவர் தனது 12 வயதிலிருந்து திருச்சபைக்காக உழைத்தார்.

சாத்தானின் தொடர்ந்த அழிவுகள் அவரை சோதித்தன. அவரது சொத்துக்கள் திருட்டு போயின. அவரது பணியாட்கள் பிளேக் எனும் கொள்ளை நோயால் மடிந்தனர். அவரது குடும்பத்தினர் கடல் பயணம் மேற்கொண்டபோது, அவர்கள் பயணம் செய்த கப்பலின் தலைவன் இவரது மனைவி “தியோபிஸ்ட்டா”வை (Theopista) கடத்தினான். தமது இரு மகன்களான (Agapius and Theopistus) 'அகபியஸ்' மற்றும் 'தியோபிஸ்டஸ்' ஆகியோருடன் நதியைக் கடந்தார் யூஸ்டேஸ். ஆனால் அவரது ஒரு மகன் ஓநாய்க்கும், இன்னொரு மகன் சிங்கத்துக்கும் பலியாயினர். மனைவியையும் இழந்து, பிள்ளைகளையும் மரணத்துக்கு பறிகொடுத்த புனிதர் தமது விசுவாசத்தை இழக்கவில்லை.

மற்றவர்களின் பலவீனங்களை அறிந்து, அவைகளிலிருந்து வெளியேற உதவினார். இவரின் நல்ல குணங்களை அறிந்த எதிரிகள், சமுதாயத்தில் இவரின் பெயரை கெடுக்க திட்டமிட்டனர். கொடூரமான பழிகளை அவரின் மேல் சுமத்தினர். பல அநீதிகளை செய்ததாக குற்றம் சாட்டினர். அப்போதும் கூட இவர் பொறுமையை கடைபிடித்து, கடவுளை மட்டுமே தன் வாழ்வின் மையமாக கொண்டு செயல்பட்டார். எதிரிகளின் இதயங்களிலும், ஈரத்தை ஏற்படுத்தி இறையுறவை வளர்த்து, மனமாற்றினார்.

ரோம பேரரசன் “ஹட்ரியான்” (Hadrian) இவரை கொதிக்கும் கொப்பரையிலிட்டு கொலை செய்ததாக ஐதீகம். ஆனால், இதனை கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை நிராகரித்தது. இவர் இறந்தபிறகு இவரின் உடலிலிருந்த எலும்புகள் அனைத்தையும் ஒன்றாக் சேர்த்து கி.பி. 1567ல் பாரிஸ் நாட்டில் புனித எஸ்தாக்கியுஸ் ஆலயத்தில் வைக்கப்பட்டது. இவர் நீதியோடும், நேர்மையோடு வாழ்ந்தார். மிகவும் எளிமையான வாழ்வை வாழ்ந்தார். சாதி, மதம் பார்க்காமல் பணியாற்றினார். மனசாட்சிக்கு மட்டுமே செவிசாய்த்தார். இவருக்கு தீங்கு செய்தவர்களிடமும் அன்பாக இருந்தார். அவர்களை மன்னித்து, அவர்களிடத்தில் அளவில்லா அன்பு காட்டி, வாழ்வையும் மாற்றினார். பிறரை பாராட்டுவதிலும் எப்போதும் முதலிடம் வகித்தார்.

இன்றைய புனிதர் : 

புனித எஸ்தாக்கியுஸ் St. Eustachius

இறப்பு : 118

பாதுகாவல்: தீயணைப்பு வீரர்கள்,

வேட்டைக்காரர்கள், பெண்விடுதலை

எஸ்தாக்கியுஸ் என்பது ஓர் கிரேக்கப்பெயர். இவர் மனமாற்றம் பெறுவதற்கு முன் பிளாசிடஸ் Placidus என்றழைக்கப்பெற்றார். உரோமில் அதிரியான் Adrian ஆட்சி செய்த காலத்தில் தேயோபிஷ்டா Theopista மற்றும் அவரின் மகன்கள் அகாபியஸ் (Agapius), தேயோபிஷ்டஸ்(Theopistus) என்பவர்களுடன் சேர்த்து துன்பப்படுத்தப்பட்டார். எஸ்தாக்கியுஸ் தன்னிடம் இருந்த உடைமைகள் அனைத்தையும் ஏழைகளுக்கு வழங்கி மறைப்பணியை

ஆற்றியுள்ளார். இவர் தனது 12 வயதிலிருந்து திருச்சபைக்காக உழைத்தார்.

இவர் இறந்தபிறகு இவரின் உடலிலிருந்த எலும்புகள் அனைத்தையும் ஒன்றாக் சேர்த்து 1567 ல் பாரிஸ் நாட்டில் புனித எஸ்தாக்கியுஸ் ஆலயத்தில் வைக்கப்பட்டது, இவர் நீதியோடும்,நேர்மையோடு வாழ்ந்தார். மிகவும் எளிமையான

வாழ்வை வாழ்ந்தார். சாதி, மதம் பார்க்காமல் பணியாற்றினார். மனசாட்சிக்கு மட்டுமே செவிசாய்த்தார். இவருக்கு தீங்கு

செய்தவர்களிடமும் அன்பாக இருந்தார். அவர்களை மன்னித்து, அவர்களிடத்தில் அளவில்லா அன்பு காட்டி, வாழ்வையும் மாற்றினார். பிறரை பாராட்டுவதிலும் எப்போதும் முதலிடம் வகித்தார். மற்றவர்களின் பலவீனங்களை அறிந்து,

அவைகளிலிருந்து வெளியேற உதவினார். இவரின் நல்ல குணங்களை அறிந்த எதிரிகள் , சமுதாயத்தில் இவரின் பெயரை கெடுக்க திட்டமிட்டனர். கொடூரமான பழிகளை அவரின் மேல் சுமத்தினர். பல அநீதிகளை செய்ததாக குற்றம் சாட்டினர். அப்போதும் கூட இவர் பொறுமையை கடைபிடித்து, கடவுளை மட்டுமே தன் வாழ்வின் மையமாக கொண்டு

செயல்பட்டார். எதிரிகளின் இதயங்களிலும், ஈரத்தை ஏற்படுத்தி இறையுறவை வளர்த்து, மனமாற்றினார்.

செபம்:

நல்ல ஆயனாம் இறைவா! நற்செய்தியின் மதிப்பிடுகளின்படி தன் வாழ்வை அமைத்து வாழ்ந்த புனித எஸ்தாக்கியுஸை நினைத்து உம்மை போற்றுகின்றோம். அவர் வாழ்ந்து விட்டு சென்ற முன் மாதிரியான அவரின் வாழ்வை

நாங்களும் கற்றுக்கொண்டு அவரை எம் வாழ்வில் பிரதிபலிக்க நீர் அருள் தர வேண்டுமென்று தந்தையே உம்மை மன்றாடுகின்றோம்.

---JDH---தெய்வீக குணமளிக்கும் இயேசு /திண்டுக்கல்.

Saint of the Day: (20-09-2020)

Saint Eustachius

Pagan Roman general in the army of the emperor Trajan. Converted to Christianity following a hunting trip during which he saw a glowing cross between the antlers of a stag, after which he received a prophecy that he would suffer for Christ. He was baptized with his wife, Saint Theopistes of Rome and two sons, Saint Agapitus of Rome and Saint Theopistus of Rome, and given the name Eustachius.

Denounced as a Christian, he lost his property, was reduced to abject poverty, and Roman authorities took his wife and children. However, being a capable general, he was recalled to duty by Trajan to help repel barbarians from Rome, which he did. He and his family were reunited with the expectation they would sacrifice to idols in thanks for a military victory. When they refused, an enraged Hadrian ordered them thrown to the lions; the big cats played like kittens around them, so they were martyred together by being burned in a bronze bull. Eustachius is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Born : 

as Placidas

Died :

cooked to death in a bronze bull in 188 in Rome, Italy

Patronage : 

difficult situations

• fire prevention; against fire

• firefighters

• hunters, huntsmen, hunting

• torture victims; against torture

• trappers

• diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti, Italy

• Madrid, Spain

• Poli, Italy

---JDH---Jesus the Divine Healer---

St. Trophimus. September 19

St. Trophimus

September 19
Death: 277

Martyr, with Sabbatius and Dorymedon put to death under Emperor Probus (r. 276- 282). They were executed at Antioch (modern Turkey).

Saints Trophimus (Trophimos), Sabbatius (Sabbatios, Sabbaticus), and Dorymedon are venerated as Christianmartyrs.^[2] The story of their martyrdom is enshrouded in myth,^[2] and though they share the same feast day, the saints were not martyred together or at the same time.^[2]

According to their Passion, Emperor Probus decreed that all Christians should sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Emperor sent two officials, Trophimus and Sabbatius, to Antioch. However, after Trophimus and Sabbatius arrived at the city, they were so shocked by the tortures inflicted upon the Christians there that the two men converted to Christianity. Trophimus and Sabbatius were arrested and tortured; Sabbatius died as a result of being tortured.^[2]

Trophimus was sent to Synnada in Asia Minor. Imprisoned at Synnada was a Christian senator named Dorymedon, and Trophimus visited the senator in prison. Officials in Synnada attempted to force Dorymedon and Trophimus to sacrifice to the gods Castor and Pollux. Dorymedon and Trophimus refused and were tortured and sentenced to be thrown to wild beasts in the arena. According to their Passion, the beasts refused to harm the two saints. The saints were then decapitated.^[2]

Their legend is of questionable historicity.^[2] As Christopher Walter points out, Probus did not persecute Christians to the same extent that Emperors Diocletian or Decius did.^[2]

A reliquary in the form of a sarcophaguscontaining some of the bones of Trophimus was discovered at Schifout Kassaba (Synnada) in 1907, and transported to the museum at Bursa; this monument may date back to the third century.^[2][3]