Pope encourages Korean priests, religious to live ‘hidden martyrdom’ of daily love

October 06, 2026

Pope Leo XIV encouraged Korean priests and religious who reside in Rome to live the “hidden martyrdom” of daily love.

“Preserving the memory of the martyrs means allowing their faith to continue to live on in our choices, in our service, in forgiveness and in the gift of ourselves,” Pope Leo said during the October 5 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “I am thinking, in particular, of the Venerable Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, the second priest in Korean history, remembered as the ‘martyr of sweat.’“

The Pope explained:

For eleven years he tirelessly travelled the roads of Korea to reach distant and hidden Christian communities, bringing them the Word of God and the Sacraments, until he gave his life in service. His witness reminds us that there is the martyrdom of those who offer their lives in a single moment, and the more hidden martyrdom of those who give it day after day. Yes, this is what all Christians are called to do: to give their lives in love, every day.

Our times need precisely this: men and women who have the courage to do good even when it comes at a cost. Be a neighbor to those who are alone, support those who are weary, seek out those who have strayed. Have the courage to forgive, to start afresh, to engage in dialogue. Goodness is not always acknowledged and often requires effort, but it is this daily courage of charity that lends credibility to our proclamation of the Gospel.

“The Korean Peninsula still bears the painful wound of division,” Pope Leo continued. “For this reason, I ask you always to be men and women of reconciliation. Peace begins in the heart and in our daily relationships, when we listen rather than judge, forgive rather than harbor resentment, and choose communion rather than confrontation.”

“Be united and be peacemakers,” he added. “Let us continue to work and pray so that new paths of encounter may open up and so that the Gospel of peace may be proclaimed freely throughout the Korean Peninsula and the world.”

 

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Further information:

• To Korean Priests and Religious Women residing in Rome (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 10/5/26)
• Audience with priests and religious from Korea, resident in Rome (Holy See Press Office, 10/5/26)
• Pope urges Korean priests and religious to ‘bear witness to reconciliation' (Vatican News, 10/5/26)