ST. ANDREW KIM TAE-GON (1821 – 1846) With 102 other Korean Martyrs Feast: September 20 St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the Patron Saint of Korea. In the late 18th century, Roman Catholicism began to take root slowly in Korea and was introduced by lay people. The evangelization of Korea began during the 17th century through a group of lay persons. A strong vital Christian community flourished there under lay leadership. In 1836, missionaries arrived from the Paris Foreign Mission Society, only to find out that the people there were already practicing Catholicism. Kims parents were converts. His father and grandfather were martyred for practicing 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 a Shrine patently Korean in style and design was built. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai after nine years (1844) by the French Bishop Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During that time of the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to covertly practice their faith. 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. Religious freedom was finally restored in Korea in 1886. Both Andrew Kim and his father, Ignatius Kim, were beatified on July 25, 1925. His grandfather was declared blessed by Pope Francis in Korea during his visit last August 16, 2014. In 1949 the Holy See named Andrew Kim Tae-gon the principal patron of the Roman Catholic Clergy in Korea. On May 6, 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized Andrew Kim Tae-gon along with 102 other martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang during his trip to Korea. Pope John Paul IIs 1984 canonization of Andrew Kim Tae-gon and the other Korean martyrs was the first time the pontiff had held a canonization mass outside the Vatican. At the canonization, Pope John Paul II 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 todays splendid flowering of the Church in Korea. Even today their undying spirit sustains the Christian in the Church of silence in the north of this tragically divided land.” In the Philippines, September 20 is celebrated as a big feast in Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, in honor of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, its Patron Saint, where the saint lived for three years intermittently. A big Shrine, designed in Korean style is dedicated in his honor. In a special agreement between Korean Stephen Cardinal Kim and Bishop Cirilo Almario in 1986, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon was taken as the official Patron Saint of Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan. Happy Fiesta!
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:55:21 +0000
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