Indonesia's' first parish with Korean martyr as patron
Pope Framcis (seated) at the birthplace of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, in Dangjin on August 15, 2014.- AP |
A parish in Jakarta has been dedicated to Korean
martyr, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846), becoming the first
parish in Indonesia with a non-European patron saint.
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean-born Catholic priest and patron
saint of Korea, has been adopted as the patron of the parish church in
Kelpa Gading in the Indonesian capital.
Under Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, Christians were persecuted and
executed. Kim was one of several thousand Christians who were executed during
this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near
Seoul on the Han River.
John Paul II canonized 102 Korean martyrs
St. Pope John Paul II canonized Kim along with 102 other
Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang, during his trip to Korea on May
6, 1984. Their memorial is observed on September 20.
Consecration ceremony
Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta
presided over the consecration ceremony of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon Church on
Sept. 20, along with Auxiliary Bishop Benedictus Son Hee-song of Seoul.
"So far, Indonesian churches have been dedicated only
to European saints and I wished for saints near to us," said
Archbishop Suharyo. "Finally, we decided St. Andrew Kim, the first
Korean martyr priest."
Last year, Jakarta Archdiocese requested a relic of St. Kim
from Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul, which arrived last
October.
The entrance of the 2,400 capacity St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon
Church is adorned with 24 wooden reliefs featuring scenes from the life of St.
Kim. In front of the church stands a statue of the saint, holding a cross
and wearing a traditional Korean hat made of bamboo and horsehair.
Bishop Son found a link between Korea and
Indonesia in St. Andrew Kim. "The Independence Day of
Indonesia,” he said, “is Aug. 17, 1945.” “Exactly 100 years earlier
on Aug. 17, 1845, Father Andrew Kim was ordained a priest,"
said Bishop Son. "We all are a family under the Catholic faith," he
added.
Archbishop Suharyo said the history of martyrdom in Korea
has much in common with Indonesia's history of persecution and martyrdom.
"I wish the passion of Korean laypeople who embraced Catholicism without
any foreign missionary and fostered the saint-priest be a good model for
Indonesian Catholics," Archbishop Suharyo said. (Source: UCAN)
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