September 20th, Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions.

St.Andrew Kim  and Paul Chong 

Chon Jin Am,  is the birth place of the Catholic Church in Korea in 1779. Five Koreans withdrew in Chon Jin Am hills. They discovered the writings on Christianity by Jesuit Mateo Ricci from China and adhered to the Catholic faith. One of them went to China to meet Catholic Fathers and be baptized. The graves of these first five Catholics are on the site. Thus we can say that the Korean Church is born of itself, without the intervention of missionaries. From the seeds of the early Christianity, the First Korean Priest was ordained who had to give the ultimate price for his faith, martyrdom. He is St.Andrew Kim Taegon. Today, 20^th of September the Church is celebrating the feast of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions. Welcome to the saint of the day.

St. Andrew Kim’s parents were part of the yangban, a traditional ruling class dynasty.  Kim’s parents embraced Christianity and later his father was martyred for practicing Christianity, a prohibited activity in the then Korea. 

Kim was baptized at the age of 15.  Subsequently he studied in a seminary at Macau and then in Philippines.  He was ordained as a priest in 1844 by the French Bishop Jean Joseph Jean Baptiste Ferréol.  After his ordination he returned to Korea for evangelization.  During this time Christians were persecuted by the Joseon Dynasty and Kim was one among the several thousand Christians executed.  Kim was tortured and beheaded near Seoul in 1846 when he was 25 years old.  He remained steadfast in his faith until his last breath.

St. Paul Chong Hasang was one of the early Korean Martyrs whose feast day falls on September 22.  He is venerated along with the rest of the 103 Korean martyrs on September 20.

Augustine Jeong Yak-Jong, father of Paul Chong Hasang was one among the first converts of Korea.  Hasang grew up and became the servant of a government interpreter which enabled him travel to Beijing several times.  During one of these visits he met with the Bishop of Beijing and asked him to send priests to Korea.  Bishop Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert,  and two priests were sent to Korea some years later.  Hasang learned theology and Latin and was about to be ordained when persecution broke out.  Hasang was captured and put in jail.  He was tortured and bound to a cross on a cart.  He cheerfully met his death at the age of 45.

Andrew Kim Taegon and Paul Chong Hasang along with 101 martyrs were canonised as saints by Pope John Paul II in 1984.  At that time the Pope remarked.