Andrew Kim Taegon
- This article is about the Korean saint. For the MLB player see Kim Andrew.
| Saint Andrew Kim Taegon | |
|---|---|
 Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon |
|
| Born | August 21 1821, |
| Died | September 16 1846 (aged 25) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 1925 |
| Canonized | 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II |
| Major shrine | Chuldusan (Martyr's Mound), Seoul, South Korea |
| Feast | 20 September (Roman calendar) |
| Patronage | Korean Clergy |
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St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon was Korea's first Roman Catholic priest. In the early 17th century, Roman Catholicism in Korea was primarily introduced by laypeople. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that Korea saw its first missionaries arrive only to find out that the people there were already practicing Christianity.
Born out of Korean nobility, Kim Taegon's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practicing Christianity; a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. He studied at a seminary in Macau and was ordained a priest in Shanghai six years later. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was heavily suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to covertly practice their faith. Kim Taegon was one of several thousands of Christians who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded.
On May 6, 1984 Pope John Paul II canonized Andrew Kim Taegon along with 102 other martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang. His feast day is on September 20.
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