Saint andrew kim taegon biography of rory

Andrew Kim Tae-gon is the first native-born Korean priest, and is patron saint of Korea. He was martyred with nearly 10, other Koreans, mostly lay people, before Christianity was tolerated in Korea in Today, we venerate nearly of these Koreans who have been declared saints, including Andrew and a layman, Paul Chong Hasang.

Saint andrew kim taegon biography of rory: St Andrew Kim Taegon, St

The first Christians in Korea were baptized by invading Japanese soldiers in the late s. The faith slowly grew, and then in , several Christian texts made their way to Korea and converted some scholars. When a missionary priest visited the country more than a decade later, he found 4, Christians living without the sacraments—they had never seen a priest before.

The Korean monarchy feared Christianity as a colonizing force and repressed it with several violent persecutions between and Andrew was baptized at the age of 15, and soon after left for Macao, China—1, miles away—to enter a seminary there. After further missionary work, he was ordained a priest and returned to Korea to minister and evangelize.

Two years later, at the age of 25, he was captured as he made his way along the Korean shoreline to find safe and secret passages for other missionaries. He was tortured and beheaded on September 26, Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?