ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Prayers, pilgrimages, and conferences during the month of the martyrs

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – For the Church in Korea, September is the “Month of the Martyrs,” as September 20 marks the feast of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon (1821-1846), the first Korean priest and martyr, patron of the Korean clergy. With this in mind, all the dioceses throughout Korea have organized events in honor of the martyrs, especially in light of the 25th anniversary of the canonization of the first 103 Korean martyrs. For the nation, it will be an opportunity to celebrate and call to mind these Korean martyrs who are their ancestors in the faith.
The Archdiocese of Seoul will celebrate a Holy Mass and special conferences led by experts and theologians, with the theme: “The flowers of martyrdom.” All this will take place September 4, 11, and 18 in the city’s Cathedral.
The Archdiocese of Daegu has organized a pilgrimage to the shrines of the Korean martyrs, where they will be joined by pilgrims from the Diocese of Incheon. Priests, religious, and laity from the Diocese of Cheongju will make a long and intense pilgrimage “in the footsteps of the martyrs,” visiting the historical sites related to the life of Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-eop. In the Archdiocese of Kwangju, the theme will be: “Spirituality and martyrdom in Christian life today,” and in the Diocese of Uijeongbu a symposium is being planned, as well as a 5-part pastoral plan for the veneration of the martyrs.
The Church in Korea has said that “the martyrs offer us a testimony of faith and of the amazing mission they completed at the service of the Church in Korea and Asia.”
The feast of Saint Andrew Kim and Companions is, for the local Church, an opportunity to recall their history, the beginnings of the preaching of the Gospel in Korea in the early 1700s, thanks to the apostolic commitment of several laymen. Even without the presence of pastors, a fervent and strong community was formed, being led and sustained almost entirely by members of the laity until 1836, when the first French missionaries arrived in the area. This Christian community suffered harsh persecutions in the years 1839, 1846, 1866, and 1867. Korea has over 10,000 martyrs who were killed during the various waves of persecution.
The Church in Korea already honors 103 of them with a feast day, as they were canonized in 1984 in Seoul, by Pope John Paul II, in the first canonization ceremony outside the Vatican. In 2004, the Archdiocese of Seoul officially opened the diocesan phase for a new Cause for Beatification, that of Servant of God Paul Yun Ji-chung and his 123 companions, tortured and killed “in odium fidei” in 1791, at the dawn of Christianity in Korea. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 5/9/2008)