Mawon Shrine

Overview

Mawon Shrine is a shrine of the Andong Diocese of the Catholic Church located in Mawon-ri, Mungyeong-eup, Mungyeong-si, North Gyeongsang Province, where the tomb of Blessed Matthias Park Sang-geun, martyred during the Byeongin Persecution, is located. Good News introduces this place as a shrine commemorating the friendship between Father Callet and the martyr Matthias Park Sang-geun.

History

〔The Catholic Village of Mawon〕 Good News records that after the Sinyu Persecution of 1801, Catholics from the Chungcheong region gathered in Mawon, located below Saejae Pass, the gateway to Yeongnam, to escape persecution, and lived by clearing slash-and-burn fields like in nearby Catholic villages. The Daegu Archdiocese shrine guide (Shrines of Daegu) explains that Mawon was one of the Catholic villages in the northern mountainous area of Yeongnam, along with Hansil, Yeou-mok, Geonhagi, Bureogi and others.

〔The Byeongin Persecution〕 According to Good News, in 1866 the Byeongin Persecution spread beyond Saejae to Mawon, and the Catholics of the village were arrested and transferred under guard to Chungju, Sangju, Daegu and other places, and were martyred after undergoing various tortures and cruel punishments. Shrines of Daegu records that about 40 people were seized at that time.

〔Matthias Park Sang-geun and Father Callet〕 Good News, citing the records of Father Callet, writes that after the Byeongin Persecution broke out, Matthias Park went to the Hansil Catholic village to buy foxtail millet and offered his own house to bring Father Callet, who was hiding there, to a safer place. After being discovered by a villager, after three days he sought a new hiding place at dawn and headed back to Hansil, and when they reached the mountain overlooking the Hansil Catholic village, Father Callet, concerned for Matthias Park, ordered him to return home, and Matthias Park obeyed and returned. Shrines of Daegu records that Matthias Park Sang-geun was a local clerk and was on close terms with the magistrate of Mungyeong, and that the magistrate tried to persuade him that he would overlook his faith if he abandoned it, but he refused.

〔Arrest and Martyrdom〕 Good News writes that Matthias Park was arrested in December of that year and taken to Sangju, and that even while undergoing interrogation and punishment in prison, he did not yield, and encouraged the Catholics brought in from near Mungyeong with courage for martyrdom. As for the date of martyrdom, Good News records hanging in prison in January 1867, while Shrines of Daegu records on December 21, 1866 (at age 30), which differ, so both sources are cited together. His family recovered his body and buried it in his hometown (Good News).

〔Discovery of the Tomb and Development of the Shrine〕 Good News writes that the tomb of Matthias Park Sang-geun was first discovered in early 1983 and was transferred in September 1985 to a newly built tomb at its present location. In early 1995, the Mungyeong district pastoral council purchased a parking lot site and opened a new access road to develop the shrine, and erected a statue symbolizing the faith and friendship of Father Callet and Matthias Park, a statue of the Risen Jesus, the Stations of the Cross, a statue of Our Lady and others, holding an unveiling ceremony for the statues on October 3, 1996. Matthias Park Sang-geun was beatified by Pope Francis on August 16, 2014 in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.

Architecture and Space

Shrines of Daegu records that above the tomb of Matthias Park Sang-geun stands a statue commemorating the friendship of Father Callet and Matthias Park, and that it is equipped with a large cross and the 14 Stations of the Cross, a statue of Our Lady, and an outdoor altar.

Related Places and People

• Hansil Catholic Village: a nearby Catholic village where Father Callet was hiding, introduced as a pilgrimage route to be visited together with Mawon Shrine (Good News, Shrines of Daegu).
• Matthias Park Sang-geun (1837~1867, Good News): a blessed martyred during the Byeongin Persecution.
• Father Callet: a missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society who entered the country in 1861 and was in charge of ministry in the northern Gyeongsang region until 1866 (Shrines of Daegu).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News Shrines and Historic Sites, “Mawon Shrine (Tomb of Blessed Matthias Park Sang-geun)”. Formation of Catholic villages, the Byeongin Persecution, Matthias Park Sang-geun and Father Callet, discovery and transfer of the tomb, statue unveiling in 1996, beatification.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2345
2. Daegu Archdiocese Shrine Guide, “Shrines of Daegu – 9. Mawon Shrine in Mungyeong”. Arrest of about 40 Catholics in villages, life and martyrdom of Matthias Park Sang-geun (record of December 21, 1866), shrine facilities.
   http://www.daegusaint.org/p405/1897