Blessed Peter Jeong San-pil

Peter Jeong San-pil (Korean: 정산필 베드로; born c. 1739 in Deoksan, Chungcheong Province, Korea; died 1799 in the same place) was a Korean martyr and a blessed of the Catholic Church. Peter Jeong San-pil was born in Deoksan around 1739. After the Chinese Catholic missionary Father Zhou Wenmo arrived in Korea in 1794, Jeong San-pil visited him and received baptism. He became a catechist in the Naepo region, where he taught the Catholic faith. To study the catechism and pray, he frequently met with Francis Bang, Lawrence Pak Chwi-deuk, and James Won Si-bo, all of whom would later also suffer martyrdom. Persecutions of Christians began in Korea in 1797. Peter Jeong San-pil was arrested in 1798 or 1799. Even torture could not compel him to renounce his faith, and he was subsequently beheaded in 1799. Peter Jeong San-pil was beatified by Pope Francis on August 16, 2014, as one of the 124 Korean martyrs. His feast day is celebrated on May 31 with the group of 124 Korean martyrs.