SEOUL (UCAN): The Missionary Society of Saint Columban recently commemorated the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of seven of its priests who were killed during the Korean War. These priests have been declared Servants of God by the Vatican, according to the Catholic Times of Korea.
The event took place on May 23, organised by the Korean branch of the Columbans in Seoul. It included a commemorative Mass attended by the relatives of the martyred missionaries. Columban Father Daniel Kiback, who celebrated the liturgy, remarked that the priests lived in Korea and bore witness to their faith through their lives, “even amid the horrors of war.”
The seven priests who were declared Servants of God are Father Anthony Collier, Father James Maginn, Father Patrick Reilly, Father Patrick Brennan, Father Thomas Cusack, Father John O’Brien, and Father Francis Canavan. They are grouped with Bishop Francis Borgia Hong Yong-ho of Pyongyang and 80 companions who were killed during persecutions from 1901 to the mid-20th century and are currently under consideration for beatification and potential saint
The title “Servant of God” is formally granted after the diocesan investigation is complete, and the records are sent to the Holy See’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The subsequent stages include declaring the individual venerable, then blessed, and finally canonisation, which elevates the person to saint status.
According to the Columban website, six of the priests were martyred by Communist North Korean troops, while one died in prison. The website also notes that two of the priests survived the notorious Death March to North Korea.
After the Mass, the Columbans presented a commemorative plaque to the relatives of the martyrs. During a meeting following the Mass, family members shared their memories of the martyrs and their experiences related to them.
Stefanie McNamara, who was five years old when Father Cusack was martyred in Mokdong, Daejeon, in September 1950, vividly recalled the last time her uncle returned to Korea from Ireland after a vacation and the news of his death. McNamara stated, “Whenever Korean believers held our hands and said, ‘thank you’ to us, it was an indescribable feeling.” She added, “It filled my heart with joy, and I feel like I can return to Ireland with a grateful heart.”
The relatives, who arrived in South Korea on May 19, also met with Archbishop Simon Ok Hyun-jin of Gwangju and Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young of Chuncheon. They visited the Society of the Divine Word in Mokdong and the Soyangro Cathedral in Chuncheon, both of which are believed to be the locations where the martyrs died.
The Columbans first arrived in Korea in 1933 at the invitation of Bishop Florian-Jean-Baptiste Demange of the Paris Foreign Missions in Daegu.
