The Vatican has decided to dedicate and permanently install a 12-foot-tall statue of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, patron saint of Korea, at St. Peter's Basilica.
The statue's dedication will take place on September 16, the anniversary of Kim's beheading by the Korean Joseon Dynasty.
Andrew Kim (1821-1846) was the first native priest of Korea and a martyr for the faith.
Korean Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy had proposed the statue and Pope Francis authorized it.
The pope will also welcome a delegation of some 300 Korean clergy and laypeople for the dedication.
The 6-ton Carrara marble statue depicting the saint with his arms outstretched and wearing traditional Korean dopo and a flat hat will be permanently installed in a niche outside St. Peter's Basilica.
The statue is the work of Korean Catholic artist Han Jin-seop.