Jinmokjeong Retreat House

History & origins

Jinmokjeong Pilgrim House was developed as an additional base for pilgrims who needed a place to stay at a shrine where commemoration of the martyrs and pilgrimage had already taken root. Jinmokjeong had formed a landscape of remembrance around Beomgul Cave, associated with the hiding place of three martyred Blesseds, their graves, Jinmok mission station, and the Martyrs Memorial Church. The new facility was added in response to pilgrims wishing to remain at the shrine for prayer.

On May 29, 2024, Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-gil presided over the blessing of the Pilgrim House and the “Heo-Ryun-Yi Memorial Garden.” The Catholic Times reported that the house was conceived as a multipurpose lodging facility inspired by the spirit of the albergues on the Camino de Santiago, with single rooms, family rooms, and caravans for camping. On the first floor, a meditation room modeled after Beomgul Cave was created so that pilgrims could reflect on the place where the three Blesseds hid even when access to the actual cave was difficult because of natural damage.

Later that year, an official diocesan walking pilgrimage connected the Martyrs Memorial Church, the Pilgrim House, the martyrs’ graves, the Bible Garden, and Jinmok mission station in one route. This shows that the new facility was not meant to replace Jinmokjeong’s older historical sites, but to link them and help pilgrims remain longer in remembrance and prayer.