Saint Peter Yi Myŏng-sŏ

Peter Yi Myŏng-sŏ (Korean: 이명서 베드로) (born 1820 in Chungcheong Province, Korea; died December 13, 1866, in Jeonju, Korea) was a Korean martyr and a saint of the Catholic Church. He was born into a devout Catholic family in Chungcheong Province and had a wife and several children. During the anti-Catholic persecutions in Korea, he was arrested in early December 1866 and imprisoned. While in prison, he was subjected to threats and torture in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to renounce his faith. He was beheaded on December 13, 1866, along with five other Catholics: Peter Cho Hwa-sŏ, Peter Son Sŏn-ji, Bartholomew Chŏng Mun-ho, Joseph Han Wŏn-sŏ, and Peter Chŏng Wŏn-ji. He is commemorated on the anniversary of his death and on September 20 as part of the group of 103 Korean Martyrs. He was beatified by Pope Paul VI on October 6, 1968, and canonized in Seoul by Pope John Paul II on May 6, 1984, as one of the 103 Korean Martyrs.