Blessed Paul Yun Yu-il

Paul Yun Yu-il (Korean: 윤유일 바오로; born 1760 in Yeoju, Korea; died June 28, 1795, in Seoul) was a Korean martyr and a blessed of the Catholic Church. Yun Yu-il learned about the Christian faith from Ambrose Kwon Cheol-sin and his younger brother, Francis Xavier Kwon Il-sin. In 1789, he was sent by local Catholics to the Apostolic Vicar of Beijing, Alexandre de Gouvea, to inform him of their situation and discuss the future of the Church in Korea. In 1790, he met both the bishop and Lazarist missionaries, from whom he received baptism. In 1794, he participated in bringing the first Catholic missionary, James Zhou Wenmo, to Korea. Soon after, his presence in Korea became known to authorities hostile to Christians, which led to the imprisonment of Matthias Choe In-gil, followed by Paul Yun Yu-il and Saba Ji Hwang. Authorities attempted to force them to reveal the priest's whereabouts and to renounce their faith. When these efforts failed, they were murdered on June 28, 1795, and their bodies were thrown into the Han River. Paul Yun Yu-il's younger brother, James Yun Yu-o, also became a martyr for the faith in 1801, as did his two cousins, Agatha Yun Jeom-hye and Lucia Yun Un-hye. Paul Yun Yu-il was beatified by Pope Francis on August 16, 2014, as part of a group of 124 Korean martyrs. He is commemorated on May 31 with the group of 124 Korean martyrs.