Blessed Church

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.