St Andrew Kim Tae-gon, 1st Korean priest, martyr

In 1983 Pope John Paul II canonized more than 100 who had died for the faith in Korea during severe persecutions in 1839, 1846, 1866 and 1867. The best known of these is St Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean priest. His father is also one of the canonized martyrs.

In 1837 three young Koreans went to Macao to study under the priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society (Missions Étrangères de Paris or MEP). Because of the First Opium War or First Anglo-Chinese War, Andrew went to Manila twice where he was a guest of the Dominicans.

Andrew acted as an interpreter during peace talks on a French warship. In 1844 he was ordained deacon in China and was able to evade border patrols t re-enter Korea.. the following year, now 24, he and some others traveled by ship on a dangerous voyage to Shanghai. He was ordained priest near there on 17 August 1845. He tried twice, unsuccessfully to enter Korea by land but was able to do so by sea. However, he was constantly being hunted and after a year was arrested.

St Andrew showed such wisdom and bravery in front of the judges that some of them asked the king to spare his life. Other officials opposed this. Andrew insisted that he was a Korean and wrote when condemned, ‘If I have been in touch with foreigners, it was because of my religion, it was for my God; it is for him that I die. An immortal life is to begin for me’. The saint was beheaded in 1846.

(Information from Asian Saints by Francis X. Clarke SJ, Claretian Publications, Manila, 2000, based on Lives of 103 Martyrs Saints of Korea by Kim Chang-Seok, Thaddeus, Catholic Publishing House, Seoul, 1984.)

In his final exhortation St Andrew wrote, ‘My brothers and sisters, my dearest friends, think again and again on this: God has ruled over all things in heaven and on earth from the beginning of time; then reflect on why and for what purpose he chose each one of us to be created in his own image and likeness.

‘In this world of perils and hardship if we did not recognize the Lord as our Creator, there would be no benefit either in being born or in our continued existence. We have come into this world by God’s grace; by that same grace we have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name alone and not in fact? We would have come into the world for nothing, and we would have betrayed even God and his grace. It would be better never to have been born than to receive the grace of God and then to sin against him . . .

‘There are twenty of us in this place and by God’s grace we are so far all well. If any of us is executed, I ask you not to forget our families. I have many things to say, yet how can pen and paper capture what I feel?

‘I end this letter. As we are all near the final ordeal, I urge you to remain steadfast in faith, so that at last we will all reach heaven and there rejoice together. I embrace you all in love.’ (Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours for the Dioceses of the Philippines.)

Check http://misyononline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=276 , Hollywood actor, Korean Martyrs, Vatican Pimpernel and http://misyononline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=542#542 , Youngest Korean Martyr: 13.