Martyrs of Korea · Feast day September 20
Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions
The feast day of Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions is September 20, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar.
| Feast day | September 20 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Martyrs of Korea |
| Died | 1846 |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
The Korean church was founded by no missionary: lay scholars found Christ in books brought from Beijing and baptized one another. When priests finally reached them, persecution fell in waves; some ten thousand died in the century that followed.
Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, son of a martyr, slipped out of the country, was ordained the first native Korean priest, and returned to serve the hidden Church for a single year before capture. He was twenty-five when they beheaded him at the Han River in 1846. He and one hundred two companions were canonized at Seoul.
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions keeps September 20 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of September.
All the saints of September Born on September 20? A saint for every day
Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? Report an error and we’ll fix it in the app and here.