Papal praise for Korean ‘month of martyrs’

August 30, 2013

Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul, South Korea’s capital city, has proclaimed September a “month of martyrs” to help educate the faithful about their forebears who gave their lives for their faith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

“Many historical sites are unknown to the people of the city," said the prelate, according to an AsiaNews report. “Sadly but true, there is nothing but a monument in the largest shrine dedicated to our martyrs. However, through the ‘month of the martyrs’ and the pilgrimage, we want Koreans to learn the stories of those who sacrificed their life for their faith.”

“His Holiness trusts that all who participate in pilgrimages during this month, aided by the prayers and example of the martyrs, will deepen their communion with the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down his life that we might share in the inestimable gift of eternal life,” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said in a papal message praising the initiative. “He prays that this occasion may be an opportunity for pilgrims to rekindle the faith in their hearts and so commit themselves more fully to the urgent task of evangelization.”

 

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Further information:

• Pope: prays for Korean "Month of Martyrs" (Vatican Radio)
• 'Martyrs routes' in Seoul to revive the faith and the relationship with God (AsiaNews.it)