Korean layman who kept the faith in the persecution of 1866 and was martyred on March 11, 1866.
Life
Mark Chong Ui-bae was born in 1795. A learned man who at first knew nothing of Catholicism, he was deeply moved when he saw the martyrs of the Gihae persecution of 1839 go joyfully to their deaths, and he embraced the faith.
He then became a catechist leader, assisting Bishop Berneux, teaching the faithful, and also caring for abandoned children.
Arrested in the Byeong-in persecution of 1866 when he was over seventy, he confessed his faith without wavering and was beheaded at Saenamteo on March 11, 1866, together with Alexius U Se-yong.
Spirituality
Mark Chong Ui-bae's spirituality is a faith born of witness and completed in witness. The martyrs' example led him to the faith, and he in turn led others by his own life and death. His faith began late, but his zeal burned more brightly than anyone's.
Reflection
Mark Chong Ui-bae came to faith by watching the martyrs. How does my life appear to others? Why not let my words and actions today be a small witness?