Some 3,000 Catholics from across South Korea made a pilgrimage on September 4 to shrines to pray for the beatification of 124 martyrs and a witness.

Before the pilgrimage, organised by the Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea (CLAK), Bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik of Daejeon diocese celebrated a Mass at Solmoe shrine and said the pilgrims that “the Church is the one who is making a pilgrimage and Christians are the people who are making a pilgrimage.”

Bishop You asked them to “follow martyrs’ words and behavior, and live the spirit of martyrdom” for the birth of more saints.

During the Mass, the participants promised to pray the rosary everyday for the beatification and canonization of 124 martyrs and one witness, Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop.

After the Mass, the pilgrims walked some 11 kilometers from Solmoe shrine to Hapdeok Church and Sin-ri shrine, all located in Daejeon diocese.

The pilgrimage was part of an ongoing campaign by CLAK for the beatifications. The Church’s court process finished in 2009 and the results were sent to the Vatican, where the Congregation for the Causes of Saints appointed Father Zdzislaw Kijas as a relator for the cause of the 125 servants last March.

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