|
Korean church opens holy doors to honor martyrs Activities planned to commemorate 19th century anti-Catholic persecutionFebruary 29, 2016The Archdiocese of Seoul has opened the holy doors of three shrines dedicated to the early martyrs of the Korean Catholic Church to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of anti-Christian persecution known as Byeong-in. The action is part of a year dedicated to memory of the martyrs proclaimed by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul, reported the Vatican news agency Fides. The holy doors were opened at three shrines where the martyrs were killed: the Jeoldusan mausoleum; the sanctuary in Saenamteo, and the Catholic church in Yakhyeon. After the persecution began in 1866, about 9,000, almost half the Catholic population in Korea at the time, were killed for their faith. |