Today, we will move further to the East for our "Fun with Saints" post. St. Agatha Kwon-Chin-I was born in Korea around 1819. She had been married at a very young age, but her husband deferred taking her into his home because of his poverty. She was instead entrusted to the care of his relatives.
When Agatha was about 21, she was arrested along with her mother, St. Magdalene Han Yong-I, and two other young Catholic women. Magdalene was separated from the younger women who were placed under house arrest. An apostate Christian offered to reward Agatha if she consented to go away with him and threated her if she refused. She rejected his invitation. The officers guarding the women were so moved by her steadfastness that in order to save her from the apostate's advances, they allowed all three girls to escape. The guards were punished and Agatha was soon recaptured. At court she was brutally beaten, but she was allowed to see her mother in prison one last time before Magdalene was executed. A month later, Agatha was beheaded.
Agatha and Magdalene were both among the 103 Korean Martyrs canonized en masse by Pope St. john Paul II in May 1984. Their collective Feast Day is celebrated on May 9. Another 123 Korean Martyrs have been beatified by Pope Francis.
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