ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER Saints celebrated on the 20th of September WELCOME! SAINTS ANDREW KIM TAEGON, PAUL CHONG HASANG AND COMPANIONS Although few know about these historical events outside Korean Christian circles, up to 8,000 Catholics were martyred during persecutions in Korea in the 19th century in the last great period of oppression before the age of Communism and Islamism. In May 1984, 103 martyrs were canonised and this month the Catholic Church in South Korea is holding a ‘month of martyrs’ with the support of Pope Francis. The first conversions in the traditionally Confucian country began in the late 18th century, around the time when the first Christian books written in Chinese were imported in 1777. By the time a Chinese priest arrived at the end of the century; he found about 4,000 Catholics – none of whom had ever seen a priest. The faith had been maintained by aristocratic laymen, the only people who could read at the time, who had sent a del...