(LifeSiteNews) — This week marked the 75th anniversary of the massacre of the Taejon Martyrs in the Korean War. Three priests – whose cause for sainthood has been opened by the Vatican – were executed by the North Korean communists after a heroic imprisonment where they spent their final days praying and ministering to others. 

The massacre at Taejon, which took place during the early months of the Korean War, claimed the lives of an estimated 1,000 people who were killed by communist forces.

Among them were three Columban missionaries based in Mokpo, South Korea: Msgr. Patrick Brennan, Fr. Tommie Cusack, and Fr. Jack O’Brien.

The Columban Missionaries of Ireland tell the story of their courageous predecessors:

The North Koreans arrived in Mokpo on 25th July. A week later, the three Columbans were arrested and transferred to Kwangju, where they were interrogated and placed in a police cell. One night, three American soldiers, one of whom was Lieutenant Alexander G. Makarounis, were thrown into the cell with them. They all chatted for a while in the dark.

The Columbans shared their blankets with the soldiers and Msgr. Brennan encouraged the newcomers to get a good night’s sleep.

From the “brogues” of Fr. O’Brien and Fr. Cusack, it was clear to the Americans that two of the men were Irish. When morning came, they were surprised to learn that their companions were three Roman Catholic priests.

American planes often flew overhead, strafing and bombing their detention centre, which also served as a military stronghold. The American prisoners believed that the prayers of the priests kept them safe during this period.

The priests refused, despite being threatened with death, to give the communists the names of Korean Catholics.

The six men were eventually transferred via an arduous journey to Taejon. During the long trek, they were weakened by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, according to the Columban Missionaries. 

After the war, the three American soldiers, who had quickly been relocated elsewhere, “spoke fondly of the stoicism, positivity, and deep faith of the three Columbans,” who received just two balls of rice per day during their imprisonment. 

The account continues: 

In Taejon, the priests were imprisoned at a Franciscan monastery along with the wife of a Korean judge who recalled that whenever someone was taken out for torture or interrogation regarding Catholics in Taejon, “the three foreign priests went down on their knees and prayed throughout the night for that prisoner.”

The monastery served as the temporary headquarters for the North Korean Forces, and whenever there was an air attack by American forces, the Western prisoners were ordered onto the roof to act as human shields.

By September, United Nations forces, led by American General Douglas MacArthur, had recaptured Seoul and sent a task force southward towards Taejon to prevent Communist troops from rushing north to retake the South Korean capital.

On the night of 24th September, the North Korean army was forced to retreat from Taejon. Before they withdrew, they massacred about 1,000 prisoners. Among those executed were the three Columban priests. The blood-splattered and bullet-riddled walls of the monastery bore witness to the brutality of their deaths.

Bodies – both dead and alive – were dumped in caves and into deep wells. In 1952, these remains were recovered, cremated, and buried on a nearby hill. In 1996, a Catholic historian took some of the bones and placed them in three urns, which were transferred in 2008 to a memorial erected by the Daejeon (Taejon) diocese in their honour.

The North Korean communist invasion of the South during the war left an estimated four million dead and roughly 10 million families were displaced. 

A total of seven young Columban priests who opted to stay with their parishioners after the war broke out died during the conflict: Six were murdered, while a seventh died in prison. 

Prayer for the Columban Priest Martyrs

God, in the midst of ideological conflict and the wound of division, when all the rivers and mountains were engulfed in the gunfire of war, we thank you for sending good shepherds, faithful witnesses to show us that love is greater than hate. In your mercy, bless your faithful servants and through their intercession hear our prayers. St. Columban, pray for us. Amen.