About this place
The Jungnim-dong Martyrs’ Shrine is a shrine designated by the Diocese of Chuncheon and is located within the diocesan clergy cemetery beside Jungnim-dong Cathedral. The remains of three priests of the Missionary Society of St. Columban who were killed during the Korean War—Anthony Collier, Patrick Reilly, and James Maginn—are buried here. Cenotaphs have also been erected for Fathers Baek Eung-man, Kim Gyo-myeong, Lee Gwang-jae, and Francis Canavan, whose remains could not be brought here.
These seven priests are included among the “Servants of God Bishop Francis Borgia Hong Yong-ho and 80 Companions,” whose cause for beatification is being promoted by the Catholic Church in Korea. The cemetery also contains the graves of Bishop Thomas Quinlan, who laid important foundations for the Diocese of Chuncheon, and Bishop John of the Cross Chang Yik, the first Korean bishop to lead the diocese. The shrine is therefore a place of prayer and remembrance that brings together the memory of martyrdom and the lives of the diocese’s clergy.
History & origins
The meaning of the Jungnim-dong clergy cemetery as a martyrs’ shrine begins with the history of priests connected with the Diocese of Chuncheon who were killed during the Korean War and the persecution surrounding it. According to materials of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Columban Father Anthony Collier was killed in Chuncheon on June 27, 1950; Father James Maginn in Samcheok on July 4; and Father Patrick Reilly in Gangneung on August 29. The remains of these three priests are now buried in the Jungnim-dong cemetery.
Fathers Baek Eung-man, Kim Gyo-myeong, Lee Gwang-jae, and Francis Canavan also lost their lives amid the war and communist persecution, but because their remains could not be brought to the cemetery, cenotaphs were created for them here. The Diocese of Chuncheon and the Church in Korea have remembered these seven priests not merely as casualties of war, but as modern witnesses of faith who died while remaining faithful to their vocation.
On September 17, 2017, the Diocese of Chuncheon formally proclaimed the clergy cemetery as the “Jungnim-dong Martyrs’ Shrine.” Since then it has become a place where the faithful venerate the graves and cenotaphs of the martyred priests and pray for their beatification and canonization. The seven priests are currently included in the cause of the “Servants of God Bishop Francis Borgia Hong Yong-ho and 80 Companions,” and the cemetery continues to transform the wounds of the Korean War into a living memory of the Church expressed through prayer.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Jukrim-dong Martyrs' Shrine: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
Would you like to record this place in your pilgrimage passport?
Sign in to keep this record with you.
Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 6 above-ground floors · 2 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1999
- Total floor area: 3,973㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
Accessibility information is not available yet. Please check with the location before visiting.
Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Official source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Chuncheon Diocese (Diocese of Chuncheon)
Official website: http://www.cccatholic.or.kr
Help verify information
Did the Mass schedule or church information change?
Let us know if you confirmed the displayed information or noticed something different.
Information Status: Official source
Visited here? Share details about toilets, parking or ramps.
Sign in to leave a visitor check.
Sign in to confirm the schedule or report a change.
Reports are saved for review. Mass times are changed after evidence such as official sources is checked, not automatically based on visitor confirmations.