Andrew Kim Taegon

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Andrew Kim
birth_date= birth date|1821|8|21|mf=y
death_date= death date and age|1846|9|16|1821|8|21|mf=y
feast_day= 20 September (Roman calendar)
venerated_in= Catholic Church


imagesize= 200px
caption= _{Statue of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon located in the yard of Myeongdong Cathedral}
birth_place=
death_place=
titles=
beatified_date= 1925
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date= 6 May 1984
canonized_place=
canonized_by= Pope John Paul II
attributes=
patronage= Korean Clergy
major_shrine= Chŏltusan (Martyr's Mound), Seoul, South Korea
suppressed_date=
issues=
prayer=
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Andrew Kim Taegon (김대건 안드레아) was the first Korean-born Catholic priest. In the late 18th century, Roman Catholicism in Korea began "very slowly to take root", [Michael Walsh, ed. "Butler's Lives of the Saints" (HarperCollins Publishers: New York, 1991), pp. 297.] and was introduced by laypeople. It wasn't until 1836 that Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the Paris Foreign Mission Society) arrive, [The Liturgy of the Hours Supplement. Catholic Book Publishing Co.: New York, 1992. pp. 17-18.] only to find out that the people there were already practising Catholicism.

Born out of yangban, Kim Taegon's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. He studied at a seminary in Macau and was ordained a priest in Shanghai after six years. 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 practise 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. His last words were:

"this is my last hour of life, listen tome attentively : if I have held communication withforeigners, it has been for my religion and for myGod. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is onthe point of beginning. Become Christians if youwish to be happy after death, because God haseternal chastisements in store for those who haverefused to know Him." [http://books.google.com/books?id=QMUCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA87&dq=%22barbara+ko%22#PPA118,M1]

On 6 May, 1984 Pope John Paul II canonized Andrew Kim Taegon along with 102 other Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang. Their memorial is 20 September.

ee also

*Christianity in Korea

References

External links

* [http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1144 Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045454/Saint-Kim-Dae-gon saint kim dae gon]