As a child, Teresa Kim Im-i, born into a Catholic family of Seoul, Korea, loved to read the lives of the saints and longed to imitate them. At the age of seventeen, she resolved to dedicate her virginity and the rest of her life to God, devoting herself to acts of piety and charity. Seventeen years later, she became a maid in the household of Korea's first native priest, (Saint) Andrew Kim Tae-gon. Aware of the ongoing danger of persecution in her country, Teresa told her sister, "If the Father (Father Kim) is imprisoned, I wish to follow his example, even if I have to give myself up voluntarily, so do not expect to keep me long in this world." In June of 1846, Father Kim was arrested by the pagan authorities. A month later, Teresa was arrested with three other women at the home of the Catholic layman, (Saint) Charles Hyon Song-mun. In prison, the four women refused to deny their faith, despite repeated tortures. Teresa encouraged the others to resign themselves to the will of God. On September 20, 1846, four days after the martyrdom of Father Kim, Teresa was beaten to death, one of seven executed that day.
