Lest you start to think that all Saints are European - or of European descent - I like to share stories of Saints from other parts of the world. Today's story is a little hard to tell, but these Saints should not be forgotten.
At the end of the 18th Century, Korea was ruled by the Joseon dynasty, which was a society based on Confucianism. Christianity was brought into Korea by scholars and then spread quickly. The Catholics gathering in one place regardless of the distinction of class was perceived as a threat to hierarchical Confucianism, so the Christians were subject to persecution. There were four major persecutions from 1839 to 1866.
Two of the martyrs of the 1839-40 persecution were a mother and daughter. Magdalena Son So-byok was 39 years old. She had lost nine children in infancy, leaving her with two daughters - a 2 year old and a 22 year old. Magdalena's older daughter, Barbara Choe Yong-I, was also married with a young child. Like thousands of other Catholics, these two women were forced to go into hiding and were eventually captured. They both made the heart-wrenching decision to send their babies away to relatives.
The women were urged to give up their beliefs and were promised freedom. They refused and were caned and subjected to torture. They still refused to apostatize or give up fellow Catholics. Magdalena was beheaded on January 31, 1840. Due to a law that prevented family members from being executed on the same day, Barbara was executed the following day. Their feast day is observed with the other Korean Martyrs on September 20.
(Thanks to the K of C website for much of this info.)
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