Saint Andrew Kim Taegŏn

I was born in 1821 in Korea. My parents became Christians after hearing the Word of God, a dangerous thing in our country, where Christians are persecuted. When I was 15, my father was executed for his faith. His faith and that of other Catholics inspired me to become a priest. I  trained for six years at the nearest seminary, which was in China, before being ordained a priest. The Korean Catholics were very happy to have a priest of their own who could celebrate the sacraments. In 1846, I was arrested and put to death for my faith, together with many others. 103 of us who died for our faith between 1839 and 1867 have been declared saints. These were people from all social classes of the country.