Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions

The Catholic faith reached Korea in an unusual way: lay scholars discovered it through Christian books from China, and in 1784 one of them, Yi Seung-hun, was baptized in Beijing and returned to baptize others. For decades this lay-led community grew without priests and suffered fierce persecutions in which thousands died.

Andrew Kim Taegon, born in 1821 to a Christian family whose father was also martyred, studied for the priesthood in Macau and was ordained in Shanghai in 1845, becoming the first Korean-born priest. Back in Korea he was arrested while arranging for missionaries to enter, and was beheaded near Seoul on September 16, 1846, at age twenty-five. Paul Chong Hasang, a lay catechist who worked tirelessly to bring priests to Korea, was martyred in 1839. Saint John Paul II canonized these 103 martyrs in Seoul on May 6, 1984.

Korean Catholic communities, including many in the United States, celebrate with Mass, traditional dress and shared meals, and the martyrs' shrines in Seoul, such as Jeoldu-san and Saenamteo, draw pilgrims throughout September, which the Korean Church dedicates to the martyrs.

Their witness is a reminder of the vital role of lay people in spreading the faith.