Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos celebrates Mass in Bocaue, Bulacan, during the inauguration of the St. Andrew Kim Shrine. (Photo courtesy of Malolos Diocese)
A parish in Bulacan province north of Manila is expecting to draw churchgoers from across the country after being elevated as the first and only shrine in the Philippines dedicated to a Korean saint.
Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos declared St. Andrew Kim Taegon Parish Church in the town of Bocaue a shrine on Jan. 31 because of the devotion many churchgoers were showing toward the Korean saint.
St. Taegon, also known as St. Andrew Kim, was the first Korean-born Catholic priest who spent time as a missionary in Bocaue.
Catholics there took care of the missionary and fed him until he returned to Korea, where he was beheaded near Seoul in 1846.
“The martyrdom of St. Andrew Kim has borne much fruit in this province. His blood, though shed in a foreign land, has blessed the province of Bulacan by having more Filipinos drawn to the Christian faith,” Bishop Villarojo said in a homily during a Mass to mark the parish church’s elevation
Villarojo said the devotion now shown to the saint was the principal reason for elevating the parish church to a shrine.
“A shrine is a church or a sacred place where either a relic is preserved or where an apparition of a historical event of faith has taken place. A shrine is typically designated to help foster devotion to a particular saint. This is what we commemorate in the life of St. Kim and the history of this place,” Bishop Villarojo said.
People attended a fluvial procession to commemorate the arrival of the Korean martyr in the province passing along the Bocaue River.
There were presentations discussing the life and martyrdom of St. Kim attended by both clergymen and churchgoers.
Bishop Villarojo urged Catholics to learn from the Korean saint, who “understood well” his purpose of coming to Philippine shores.
“St. Andrew Kim understood his mission. He knew what it meant to live a life inspired by God,” Bishop Villarojo added.
Bishop Villarojo also applauded a group of nuns called the Sisters of St. Andrew, a Korean-based congregation named after the martyr.
The sisters had been in Malolos Diocese for years promoting devotion to the Korean saint and helping the diocese in its apostolic projects.
Many Catholics not from the province say they plan to visit the shrine on pilgrimages in the coming months.
“I am not from Bulacan but I pray to St. Andrew Kim for intercession. Every time I have an asthma attack, I pray to him. It works. My asthma is gone after asking for his intercession,” Melanie Baladria told UCA News.
She said that the Korean influence among Filipinos was not only in pop culture but also in faith.
“I hope many of us will see the virtues of a Korean saint who once stepped on Philippine soil to spread the faith,” she said.
