Saint Andrew Kim Taegon: A Young Priest Seeking His People

How can faith survive in a land that has no priests? In Korea, the Catholic faith was first passed on by baptized laypeople, because there were simply no priests there yet. About two hundred years ago, Christians in that land were persecuted very severely. Being a Christian was forbidden.

Saint Andrew Kim Taegon grew up amid that threat. The persecution under the Joseon dynasty did not even spare the families of executed Catholics. Andrew's grandfather and father became martyrs, while his mother was forced to live as a beggar. From this wounded family would later come Korea's first native priest.

The road to the priesthood was not easy. While still a seminarian, Andrew had to find ways to secretly welcome missionaries from abroad, because the rulers of the time strictly forbade all foreigners from entering Korea. He helped the missionary priests who entered covertly to minister to the people. He also studied theology in Macao, and was then ordained a priest at a cathedral in Shanghai in 1845.

Pope Francis once recounted an experience from his travels. One time Andrew walked in the snow for a very long time without eating, until he collapsed from exhaustion and nearly froze. According to the story, he then heard a voice telling him to get up and keep walking. The sources do not explain where this story comes from. The Pope interpreted it as the moment when Andrew realized that in bearing witness to the Gospel he was not alone, and that the Lord would not forsake him.

As a priest, Andrew faced a dangerous task. His people were scattered, and many were forced to keep their identity secret for fear of arrest. Andrew did not wait for things to become safe. In the midst of fierce persecution, he courageously went out to look for them.

His method was simple and careful at the same time. He met the faithful discreetly, always in the presence of other people, as if they had been chatting casually for a while. First there was a previously agreed sign of recognition. Because other people were watching too, he could only speak softly and say a few words, only the most essential: whether the person he was speaking with was a disciple of Jesus.

In the end, that faithfulness demanded his whole life. The available sources do not tell how he was arrested. According to a Vatican News report, his interrogators asked him whether he was a Catholic. The 25-year-old priest firmly declared that he was Catholic, and that answer cost him his life. He was beheaded on September 16, 1846, just 13 months after his ordination, at what is now the Saenamteo Martyrs' Shrine in Seoul.

Pope Francis saw that martyrdom as the fruit of Andrew's perseverance in following Christ and serving his people. On May 6, 1984, in Seoul, Pope John Paul II declared Andrew a saint together with the other Korean martyrs, 103 in all, including 15 women. The Church celebrates their feast every September 20.

Born

August 21, 1821

Childhood home

The house where he was born and spent his childhood is now the Solmoe Shrine.

Priestly ordination

1845, at a cathedral in Shanghai

Died

September 16, 1846, beheaded at what is now the Saenamteo Martyrs' Shrine, Seoul

Canonization

May 6, 1984, in Seoul by Pope John Paul II, together with 103 Korean martyrs

Feast

September 20