The Korean Martyrs Shrine at St. Thomas of Canterbury depicts the 103 Korean Martyrs canonized by Pope St. John Paul II on May 6, 1984, in Seoul, South Korea. St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest (ordained in Shanghai on August 17, 1845), is at the center, wearing a red stole.
In his homily for the canonization of the Korean Martyrs, the first canonization to take place outside of Rome since the Middle Ages, St. John Paul II pointed out the unique character of the Catholic Church in Korea, "a community unique in the history of the Church by reason of the fact that it was founded entirely by lay people."
"This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution," he said. "Thus, in less than a century, it could already boast of some ten thousand martyrs. The years 1791, 1801, 1827, 1839, 1846 and 1866 are forever signed with the holy blood of your Martyrs and engraved in your hearts.
"Even though the Christians in the first half century had only two priests from China to assist them, and these only for a time, they deepened their unity in Christ through prayer and fraternal love; they disregarded social classes and encouraged religious vocations. And they sought ever closer union with their Bishop in Peking and the Pope in faraway Rome."
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea maintains biographies of the 103 martyrs. Click here to learn more about the individual saints.
The original image of the Korean Martyrs is located at the Korean Martyrs Shrine at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Jeju Island, Korea, according to Mr. Frank Merced of St. Paul Chong Hasang Catholic Church in Harker Heights, Texas. It was painted to commemorate the canonization of the martyrs by St. John Paul II.
"While individual identifications of all the saints portrayed is impossible, some are identifiable. St. Andrew Kim Taegon is located in the center of the painting with St. Paul Chong Hasang immediately to the viewer's left," Mr. Merced said. "The Europeans in vestments are the French martyrs, both priests and bishops. All the rest are artistic representations of the martyrs."
In his homily for the canonization of the Korean Martyrs, the first canonization to take place outside of Rome since the Middle Ages, St. John Paul II pointed out the unique character of the Catholic Church in Korea, "a community unique in the history of the Church by reason of the fact that it was founded entirely by lay people."
"This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution," he said. "Thus, in less than a century, it could already boast of some ten thousand martyrs. The years 1791, 1801, 1827, 1839, 1846 and 1866 are forever signed with the holy blood of your Martyrs and engraved in your hearts.
"Even though the Christians in the first half century had only two priests from China to assist them, and these only for a time, they deepened their unity in Christ through prayer and fraternal love; they disregarded social classes and encouraged religious vocations. And they sought ever closer union with their Bishop in Peking and the Pope in faraway Rome."
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea maintains biographies of the 103 martyrs. Click here to learn more about the individual saints.
The original image of the Korean Martyrs is located at the Korean Martyrs Shrine at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Jeju Island, Korea, according to Mr. Frank Merced of St. Paul Chong Hasang Catholic Church in Harker Heights, Texas. It was painted to commemorate the canonization of the martyrs by St. John Paul II.
"While individual identifications of all the saints portrayed is impossible, some are identifiable. St. Andrew Kim Taegon is located in the center of the painting with St. Paul Chong Hasang immediately to the viewer's left," Mr. Merced said. "The Europeans in vestments are the French martyrs, both priests and bishops. All the rest are artistic representations of the martyrs."
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