A married Korean laywoman martyred with her husband, Saint Damianus Nam Myŏng-hyŏk, during the 1839 Gihae persecution.

Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi was a married Korean laywoman executed at Seoul’s Small West Gate on September 3, 1839, at thirty-four years old, during the Gihae persecution of Korea’s Catholic community. She was the wife of Saint Damianus Nam Myŏng-hyŏk, also martyred in the same persecution. Maria was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1984 among the 103 Korean Martyrs by Pope John Paul II.

Quick Facts

• Died: September 3, 1839, age 34
• Place: Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea
• Venerated as: Married layperson, wife of Saint Damianus Nam Myŏng-hyŏk, martyr

Who Was Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi?

Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi was a married Korean laywoman executed at the Small West Gate in Seoul on September 3, 1839, at thirty-four years old, during the Gihae persecution against the Catholic Church in Korea. She is remembered as the wife of Saint Damianus Nam Myŏng-hyŏk, who was also martyred in the same persecution.

Historical Setting

The 1839 Gihae persecution frequently swept up entire Catholic households at once, as authorities sought out families known to have embraced the faith together. Married couples like Maria and Damianus faced arrest and execution as members of a shared Catholic community that had often been formed through family conversion and mutual support.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi

Maria is remembered together with her husband Damianus as a married couple who gave their lives together for the faith, a witness that reflects the way Catholicism took root within entire Korean families in the Church’s earliest generations.

Canonization and Feast Day

Available records show Maria’s beatification in 1925 and canonization in 1984, when Pope John Paul II canonized her among the 103 Korean Martyrs during his visit to Seoul.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Maria and her husband’s shared martyrdom is a powerful witness that marriage itself can be a path of mutual sanctification, with spouses supporting one another in fidelity to Christ even to the point of death.

A Prayer to Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi

Saint Maria Yi Yŏn-hŭi, faithful wife and martyr with your husband Damianus, pray for married couples, that they may support one another in holiness through every trial. Amen.

Sources

• Vatican.va (canonization of the 103 Korean Martyrs, 1984)
• The Roman Martyrology
• Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea