Jukrim-dong Martyrs' Shrine

Overview

The Jukrim-dong Martyrs’ Shrine is a shrine of the Catholic Diocese of Chuncheon located in the precincts of the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Jukrim-dong in Chuncheon, and is the diocesan martyrs’ and priests’ cemetery where clergy martyred in the Korean War and diocesan priests rest. The Diocese of Chuncheon proclaimed it a diocesan shrine on September 17, 2017.

History

[Proclamation as a shrine] According to the Diocese of Chuncheon’s introduction to its shrines, the Jukrim-dong Martyrs’ Shrine was proclaimed a diocesan shrine on September 17, 2017. The Catholic Times writes that in the Martyrs’ Month of 2017, Bishop Kim Un-hoe (Luca), the 7th diocesan bishop, promulgated a decree proclaiming the Jukrim-dong cemetery where the Korean War martyrs are buried as a shrine.

[Cemetery and martyr priests] The Diocese of Chuncheon explains that here are interred the remains of Fathers Ko Antonio (Anthony Collier), Ra Patricio (Patrick Reilly) and Jin Yakobo (James Maginn) of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, who were sacrificed amid the Korean War, and that cenotaphs have been erected for Fathers Baek Eung-man, Kim Gyo-myeong, Lee Gwang-jae and Son Francisco (Francis Canavan), who were martyred in North Korea where their remains could not be enshrined. It says the Catholic Church in Korea is promoting the beatification and canonization of those sacrificed in the Korean War and the liberation period as ‘Servant of God Bishop Hong Yong-ho Francis Borgia and 80 Companions,’ and that the seven martyr priests of this cemetery are included among them. The Catholic Times writes that the cemetery holds 25 persons, including priests who died while ministering in the Diocese of Chuncheon and martyrs who were sacrificed.

[Deeds of the priests] The Catholic Times introduces Father Ko Antonio as of Soyang-ro Parish, Father Jin Yakobo as of Samcheok Parish, and Father Ra Badeurisio as of Mukho Parish, and writes that Father Lee Gwang-jae (Timoteo) of Yangyang Parish was dragged to Wonsan and martyred, Columban Father Son Francisco died of illness in the Junggangjin prison camp on the Amnok River, and Father Kim Gyo-myeong (Benedicto) and Father Baek Eung-man (Damaso) were martyred in North Korea.

[Priests’ cemetery] The Diocese of Chuncheon explains that in the priests’ cemetery lie the graves of Bishop Quinlan, who survived the ‘Death March’ and, as Apostolic Delegate and Bishop of Chuncheon, laid the foundation of the diocese, and of Bishop Jang Ik, the first Korean to become Bishop of Chuncheon. The Catholic Times writes that Bishop Thomas Quinlan (Thomas F. Quinlan, 1896–1970) was the 2th and 4th Bishop of Chuncheon.

[Origins of Jukrim-dong Church] Good News writes that the mother church of Jukrim-dong Cathedral is Gomsil Parish, which separated from Pungsuwon Church in 1920 and was founded through the evangelization activity of Eom Ju-eon Martino (Malding). The Diocese of Chuncheon’s parish introduction states that Gomsil Mission Chapel was a mission chapel under Pungsuwon Parish, that as the faithful grew to over 300 it was raised to a parish on September 22, 1920, and that Father Kim Yu-ryong (Philip), ordained on September 18 of the same year, took office, making it the first parish in the Chuncheon area. Good News writes that in 1928 land below the present Jukrim-dong Church was bought to establish Chuncheon Parish, that in 1938 Father Thomas Quinlan, who took office as the 5th pastor of Chuncheon Parish as the first foreigner, purchased nearby land to prepare the site of the present church, and that in 1950 the parish name was changed to Jukrim-dong Parish.

[Korean War and restoration] According to Good News, Father Quinlan, who became the 2th Prefect Apostolic of Chuncheon in 1940, began building a new church in April 1949, but the following year the 6–25 War broke out and he was abducted by the People’s Army, and the church was also partly damaged in May 1951 during the United Nations counteroffensive airstrikes. Father Comerford, who took office as the 13th pastor in August 1951, began restoration and largely completed it in 1953 with the help of the U.S. military and the Holy See. The Diocese of Chuncheon writes that the groundbreaking was on April 5, 1949 and that the dedication of the cathedral as the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 8, 1956.

[Reconstruction and sanctuarization] Good News writes that as the church deteriorated a major reconstruction was carried out with the participation of many artists and architects, and the Catholic Times writes that Bishop Jang Ik reconstructed the cathedral in 1998 ahead of the Great Jubilee in 2000. Malding Hall, including the rectory, was blessed in April 1999, and on June 25, 2003 Jukrim-dong Church was registered as Registered Cultural Heritage No. 54. The blessing ceremony for the sanctuarization project, which built the front garden, inner courtyard, cloister and other structures on the lot in front of the church, was held on December 1, 2013, and on June 1, 2014 a bronze statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was installed and blessed (Good News).

Architecture and Space

The Catholic Times writes that the church is a representative stone building built by the Columban Fathers, and that entering through the doorway under the pointed bell tower opens onto an interior 11 m wide and 43 m long, characterized by a column-free interior and an arched ceiling. The reconstruction involved artists including Choe Jong-tae, Choe Ui-sun, Lee Chun-man, Choe Yeong-sim, Ju Ye-gyeong, Kim Yeong-seop and Sister Kim Teresita, and the exterior statue of Mother and Child, original by Kim Se-jung in 1970, was restored in granite by artist Lee Chun-man. Through the sanctuarization in 2013, a yard 30 m wide and 60 m long and a cloister, designed by Director Im Geun-bae of ‘Geurim Architecture,’ were created in front of the church; the cloister holds 14 Stations of the Cross, and on both sides of the yard entrance stand two wooden bell towers, one housing an elevator and the opposite one serving as an observatory.

Related Places and Figures

• Jukrim-dong Cathedral: the cathedral of the Diocese of Chuncheon to which the martyrs’ shrine belongs. It originated from Gomsil Parish in 1920 and is Registered Cultural Heritage No. 54 (Good News).
• Gomsil Mission Chapel: a mission chapel under Pungsuwon Parish, which became a parish in 1920 and became the first parish in the Chuncheon area (Diocese of Chuncheon).
• Eom Ju-eon (Malding, 1873–1955): the catechist who founded Gomsil Mission Chapel (Catholic Times).
• Bishop Thomas Quinlan: his grave is in the priests’ cemetery, and he served as the 2th and 4th Bishop of Chuncheon (Catholic Times).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Diocese of Chuncheon, “Jukrim-dong Martyrs’ Shrine (Diocesan Priests’ Cemetery)”. Proclaimed a shrine on September 17, 2017, interred and cenotaph priests, graves of Bishops Quinlan and Jang Ik.
   https://www.cccatholic.or.kr/parish/holyland/21
2. Catholic Good News Shrines and Historic Sites, “Jukrim-dong Cathedral and Martyrs’ Shrine (Diocesan Martyrs’ Cemetery)”. Founding of Gomsil Parish, construction and restoration in 1949–1953, reconstruction, cultural heritage registration, proclamation as a shrine in 2017.
   https://app.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2266
3. Catholic Diocese of Chuncheon, “Parish Introduction: Cathedral Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Jukrim-dong”. Raised to a parish on September 22, 1920, groundbreaking in 1949, dedication on June 8, 1956, Sacred Heart Kindergarten.
   https://www.cccatholic.or.kr/parish/parish/view/1
4. Catholic Times, “[Strolling Church Museums Near Us] (14) Jukrim-dong Cemetery Shrine of the Diocese of Chuncheon and the Cathedral Church of Jukrim-dong” (2022). 25 persons in the cemetery, deeds of the martyr priests, reconstruction in 1998, sanctuarization in 2013.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/202207050124953