Saint Peter Ch'oe Ch'ang-hŭb

Peter Ch’oe Ch’ang-hŭb (1787–December 29, 1839) was a Korean catechist, martyr, and saint of the Catholic Church. Born in Seoul into a family of government officials, he lost his father at the age of 13. Shortly thereafter, he began learning about the Christian faith, though he was not baptized at that time. During the persecutions of 1801, his older brother, John Ch’oe, was martyred, and the family lost all their possessions. Peter Ch’oe Ch’ang-hŭb married Magdalene Son Sŏ-byok, with whom he had 11 children, nine of whom died in childhood. In 1815, he resumed his religious studies and was eventually baptized in 1821 during a cholera epidemic. From that point on, he became a devout Catholic. He was arrested during the persecutions of 1839. Despite being tortured, he did not renounce his faith or betray his fellow believers. He was beheaded on December 29, 1839, at the execution site outside the Small West Gate in Seoul, alongside six other Catholics: Barbara Cho Chŭng-i, Magdalene Han Yŏng-i, Benedicta Hyŏng Kyŏng-nyŏn, Elizabeth Chŏng Chŏng-hye, Barbara Ko Sun-i, and Magdalene Yi Yŏng-dŏk. His wife, Magdalene Son Sŏ-byok, was beheaded on January 31, 1840, and their daughter, Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i, was executed on February 1. His feast day is September 20, as part of the group of 103 Korean Martyrs. He was beatified by Pope Pius XI on July 5, 1925, and canonized alongside his wife and daughter by Pope John Paul II on May 6, 1984, as one of the 103 Korean Martyrs.