Continuing his series on “The Passion for Evangelization,” Pope Francis looks to exemplary witnesses of the faith.
In his May 24, 2023, audience, Pope Francis talked about St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon and his example of apostolic courage.
Additionally, Pope Francis touched on the faithfulness of the laity and evangelization in our own lives, reminding us that we must have apostolic zeal in order to proclaim the Gospel.
The devout life of St. Andrew
St. Andrew was Korea’s first priest as well as the first Korean-born saint.
However, prior to any missionary or priest coming to the Korean peninsula, a Catholic community emerged there in the late 18th century.
The Korean Church was a lay church for decades after its birth; the evangelization of Korea was done by laity. During this period, the Confusian government was severely opposed to Catholicism, and between 1791 and 1866, there were several violent persecutions of Christians. “At that time, believing in Jesus Christ meant being ready to bear witness unto death,” said Pope Francis.
Andrew Kim Tae-gon was born in 1821, and his parents were converts to Catholicism. After being Baptized at the age of 15, Andrew left for Macau, China, to enter a seminary. Once ordained a priest, he returned to Korea to minister and evangelize. Two years later, he was captured, tortured, and beheaded for his faith.
Pope Francis draws two concrete examples from St. Andrew’s life that demonstrate the powerful witness of the lives of those persecuted for the faith.
First, he points to the way in which Andrew had to meet with the faithful. In order to avoid detection and recognition, Andrew had to approach Christians discreetly. To confirm the person’s Christian identity, he would look for some previously agreed upon sign and then quietly ask, “Are you a disciple of Jesus?”.
Pope Francis noted, “Thus, for Andrew Kim, the expression that summed up the whole identity of the Christian was ‘disciple of Christ’.” The Holy Father reminded us that being a disciple of Christ means following Him and His path, and that by nature a Christian is one who bears witness to Jesus.
Drawing from the Second Vatican Council decree Ad Gentes, Pope Francis remarked “Every Christian community receives this identity from the Holy Spirit, and so does the whole Church, since the day of Pentecost.” The passion for evangelization is a gift from the Holy Spirit. “And even if the surrounding context is not favorable — like the Korean context of Andrew Kim — the passion does not change. On the contrary, it becomes even more valuable,” said Pope Francis.
The second example offered by Pope Francis is from Andrew’s time as a seminarian. Due to the fierce persecution and lack of priests, Andrew had to find a way to secretly welcome missionaries from abroad. This was particularly difficult because the regime forbade all foreigners from entering the territory.
Pope Francis tells a story of a time when St. Andrew was walking in the snow for so long without eating, that he fell to the ground in exhaustion, risking falling unconscious and freezing. Andrew suddenly heard a voice, “Get up and keep walking!” Upon hearing the voice, St. Andrew reawakened and caught a glimpse of a shadow of someone guiding him. He realized that he wasn’t alone in his witness to the Gospel.
From this story, Pope Francis reminds us that even saints fall too. “Think of St. Peter: He committed a great sin, but he found strength in God’s mercy and got up again.” Pope Francis went on to say “No matter how difficult the situation may be . . . we must not give up and we must not forsake pursuing what is essential in our Christian life: Namely evangelization.”
Having faith during hardships
When St. John Paul II visited Korea in 1984, he canonized Andrew along with 99 other Koreans and three French missionary priests. Out of those canonized, 47 were lay women and 45 were lay men.
Pope Francis said, “St. Andrew Kim and other Korean believers have demonstrated that witnessing to the Gospel in times of persecution can bear much fruit for the faith.” The laity of Korea who carried on the faith in times of such hardship, without the guidance of priests or the presence of the sacraments serve as an inspiration for all of us. Even in our own small contexts among our family and friends, we can evangelize. We do this by “talking about Jesus and evangelizing with a heart full of joy, full of strength. And this is given by the Holy Spirit”.
The Holy Father concluded his audience by encouraging us to prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit at the coming Pentecost and to ask him for the grace of apostolic courage and the grace to evangelize.
As we continue with the Into Deep Process, ask yourself, how can I serve? How can I be a disciple of Jesus?