Today's Masses
Weekly Mass Schedule
Korean
Select a Mass time to view sources or report a change.
About this place
Bokja Catholic Church is both a parish of the Archdiocese of Daegu and a place with the character of a shrine dedicated to the memory of the martyrs. Its patron is Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, and within the church grounds are the tombs of the Blesseds James Heo In-baek, Luke Kim Jong-ryun, and Peter Yi Yang-deung, who were martyred during the Byeongin Persecution. It is a place of ordinary parish Masses and sacramental life, but also a place of prayer and pilgrimage that directly remembers Korea's Catholic martyr tradition.
Inside the church are relics of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, Bishop Imbert, and Fathers Maubant and Chastan, enshrined at the altar and tabernacle. The exterior form of the church was designed to evoke the boat on which Father Kim Taegon returned from China. A visit therefore brings together the church's present parish function with a wider landscape of faith memory formed by the martyrs' graves, saints' relics, and the symbolism of the church building itself.
History & origins
James Heo In-baek, Luke Kim Jong-ryun, and Peter Yi Yang-deung fled persecution and took refuge around Danseoksan in Sannae-myeon, Gyeongju, but were captured, interrogated, imprisoned, and finally martyred at Jangdaebeol in Ulsan in 1868. Their bodies were first buried on Domaesan behind Jinmokjeong in Gyeongju and were moved in 1932 to the Catholic cemetery at Gamcheon-ri in Daegu.
To commemorate the centenary of the Byeongin martyrs and encourage the cause for beatification and canonization, the Archdiocese of Daegu raised funds from the faithful and built the church, dedicating it in 1970. The streamlined body of the church, together with its eaves and bell tower, was designed to evoke the vessel on which Father Andrew Kim Taegon returned to Korea, expressing the memory of mission and martyrdom in architectural form.
In keeping with the founding spirit of Bokja Church, the remains of the three martyrs were transferred from the Gamcheon-ri cemetery to their present tombs on October 19, 1973. After the formal beatification process, the three were proclaimed Blesseds in 2014. The church thus became a place where a sanctuary commemorating the Byeongin martyrs and the actual graves of martyrs are joined, linking the history of the parish to the wider memory of Korea's Catholic martyrs.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Blessed Church: 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
- 3 above-ground floors · 0 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1978
- Total floor area: 2,098㎡
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
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Official website: http://www.daegu-archdiocese.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.