Biography
Anna Pak A-gi
About Anna Pak A-gi
Anna Pak A-gi learned Catholic teaching with her mother while growing up near the Han River. She married Francis Tae Mun-haeong and raised two sons and three daughters. The critical account describes difficulty learning prayers and doctrine, alongside her continuing religious commitment.
The bishops’ conference account remembers her devotion to the Passion of Christ. Anna was arrested with her husband and eldest son. They were released after renouncing their religion, while she remained imprisoned. Her family repeatedly urged her to make the same denial so she could return home.
A contemporary ministry request of May 1839 identifies Anna among prisoners sentenced to death. It accuses her of occupying her household with Catholic books and revering religious images. The officials reported that she would not reverse her religious commitment and sought approval of her sentence. The language describes their prosecution of Catholic practice, rather than an independent judgment that her religion was harmful.
A separate court request recommended her husband’s release after what officials called repentance. It also described their son, Ung-chon, pleading for his mother’s pardon. The report judged him less deeply involved in the prohibited religion and recommended his release. These records preserve the family’s attempts to obtain mercy as well as the authorities’ different treatment of its members.
Anna continued to refuse demands to abandon Catholicism. The critical account describes her comforting fellow prisoners and family members who visited her.
The ministry reported that nine Catholic prisoners, including Anna, were beheaded outside the Small West Gate on May 24, 1839.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.