Order of the Passion of Jesus Christ

History & origins

The Yangyang site became publicly established as a Passionist spiritual center on April 16, 1999, when the Passionists celebrated the opening blessing of Ohsang Spirituality Center. Contemporary reporting states that the center was intended not only for individual and family retreats but also to serve as the novitiate and spirituality research center of the Passionist vice-province in Korea. From the beginning, therefore, the property combined retreat ministry with religious formation and the study of spirituality.

At its opening, the center included a main building and a separate house and was dedicated as a retreat house open to clergy, religious, and lay people. The blessing was presided over by the vicar general of the Diocese of Chuncheon, showing that the new ministry began in a clear relationship with the local Church.

Today the official Catholic directory registers the Passionist community at the same address as St. Gemma Galgani Monastery, while listing Ohsang Spirituality Center separately as a retreat house. Taken together, these records show how a site that began in 1999 by combining retreat, formation, and spirituality research functions continues today with the monastery community and the retreat center identified as distinct but closely connected institutions.