Thomas Choe Yang-eop

Thomas Choe Yang-eop was ordained a priest on April 15, 1849, in Shanghai by the Franciscan bishop Mgr Francesco Xavier Maresca. He thus became the second Catholic priest of Korean origin, following in the footsteps of his fellow student, Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, who was martyred in 1846.

At the end of 1849, Father Thomas finally managed to return to Korea. For eleven and a half years, he dedicated himself entirely to a clandestine pastoral ministry of extraordinary intensity, under the direction of Mgr Siméon-François Berneux. While the Church in Korea was still suffering from violent waves of persecution, he tirelessly traveled through the mountainous and remote regions of the south of the country to visit hidden Christian communities.

Nicknamed the 'Martyr of Sweat' (in contrast to the 'martyr of blood' that Andrew Kim Taegon was), Father Thomas did not die by execution, but consumed his life in exhausting physical and spiritual labor. Each year, he traveled more than 2,800 kilometers on foot along steep paths to reach isolated believers. He heard the confessions of approximately 4,000 people per year and administered the sacraments in the strictest secrecy.

Concerned with the religious instruction of the faithful, who were often poor and illiterate, he composed simple catechetical songs in the vernacular around 1850, known as Cheonjugasa (天主歌辭). These easy-to-memorize hymns allowed Christians to transmit and preserve the faith from generation to generation. He also translated catechisms and liturgical texts to structure the nascent Church.

Exhausted by this grueling pace of life and by privations, Father Thomas contracted typhoid fever during one of his pastoral tours. He passed away on June 15, 1861, in Jincheon (Chungcheong province) at only 40 years of age. He was buried at the Baeron Shrine (Jecheon, North Chungcheong province), on the hill located behind Saint Joseph Seminary, which was the first theology school in Korea. His tomb quickly became a place of memory and devotion for Korean Catholics. The cause for the beatification of Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop was officially introduced by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea in 2001. On March 5, 2004, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the decree of ecclesiastical competence and the nihil obstat, conferring upon him the title of Servant of God. This cause holds major historical importance, as it is the first introduced for a non-martyr Korean faithful.

On April 26, 2016, Pope Francis reached an essential milestone by authorizing the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God, thus attributing to him the title of Venerable. In March 2026, the cause for beatification experienced a major advancement. The Medical Commission of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints issued a favorable opinion regarding a presumed healing attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Thomas Choe. Medical experts concluded that this healing could not be explained by the current state of medical science. This file is currently submitted for examination by the theologians and cardinals of the Dicastery, concretely opening the way to his future beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Thomas Choe Yang-eop rests on a total abandonment to Providence and a boundless pastoral charity. His writings, particularly his 19 letters written in Latin to his formators and superiors of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (published in French under the title Lettres et écrits by Éditions du Cerf in 2023), reveal a soul deeply united to God in the midst of tribulations. His writings also testify to a keen sense of sociological observation and great compassion for the physical and moral sufferings of his persecuted compatriots. In his role as a pioneer of inculturation, he knew how to adapt the liturgy and catechesis to Korean culture, notably through the use of traditional Cheonjugasa chants. His legacy remains alive through the Baeron sanctuary, a major pilgrimage site where thousands of faithful come each year to honor the memory of this tireless pastor. In 2026, on the occasion of the 177th anniversary of his ordination, the Diocese of Wonju unveiled a new official portrait of the Venerable, created through a forensic reconstruction of his mortal remains, testifying to the deep attachment of the Korean Church to his historical and spiritual figure.