Pope Francis beatifies 124 South Korean Catholic martyrs

Pope Francis conducted a large open-air Mass to beatify 124 of South Korea's first Catholics in the capital Seoul on Saturday to pay tribute to those who died for their faith in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

It comes on the third day of his five-day visit to South Korea - his first trip to Asia since becoming pope in March 2013.

The beatification ceremony was attended by hundreds of thousands of worshippers who lined the streets leading up to held at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, the original site where unrepentant Catholics were paraded before they were publicly executed.

"They were willing to make great sacrifices and let themselves be stripped of whatever kept them from Christ - possessions and land, prestige and honour - for they knew that Christ alone was their true treasure,'' Pope Francis told the crowd in his sermon.

"They challenge us to think about what, if anything, we ourselves would be willing to die for.''

According to BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, this is a very significant and poignant moment for the Catholic Church in South Korea because the people who were beatified were the founders of the church 200 years ago.

They were unique because they were not converted by missionaries who came to Korea but they learnt about Catholicism themselves and brought the books back to Korea to spread the Catholic Church and were executed by the royal authorities for doing so.


Article By: di-ve.com news