KIM DAE-GON, SAINT

born Aug. 21, 1821, Korea died Sept. 16, 1846, near Seoul, Korea [now in South Korea]; feast day September 20 also called Andrew Kim the first Korean Catholic priest. The son of Korean converts to Roman Catholicism, Kim received religious training in the Portuguese colony of Macau and was ordained in Shanghai in 1845 by Bishop Jean Ferrol. Much of his short life was spent traveling between China and his homeland for missionary work. In 1846 he was arrested while trying to explore a new sea route for the entrance of missionaries into Korea. His opposition to Korea's closed-door policy brought about his imprisonment and execution. On July 5, 1925, Kim was beatified along with 78 other Korean martyrs. In 1949 the Holy See named him the principal patron of the Roman Catholic clergy in Korea. He was canonized in 1984.