Saint Barbara Kwon Hui

Barbara Kwŏn Hŭi (1794–September 3, 1839) was a Korean martyr and a saint of the Catholic Church. Born into a non-Christian family, she later converted to Catholicism alongside her husband, Augustine Yi Kwang-hŏn. During the persecutions, she risked her life by providing shelter to Bishop Imbert and other missionaries, and allowed her home to be used for celebrating Mass and teaching the catechism. She was arrested in 1839, along with her husband and their daughter, Agatha Yi. After being subjected to repeated torture, she was beheaded at the execution site outside the Small West Gate in Seoul on September 3, 1839, together with five other Catholics: Maria Pak K’ŭn-agi, John Pak Hu-jae, Barbara Yi Chŏng-hŭi, Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi, and Agnes Kim Hyo-ju. Her feast day is September 20, as part of the group of the 103 Korean Martyrs. She was beatified on July 5, 1925, by Pope Pius XI and canonized on May 6, 1984, by Pope John Paul II as one of the 103 Korean Martyrs.