나주순교자기념성당

About this place

The Naju Martyrs Memorial Chapel is a memorial chapel and historic site of martyrdom located within the grounds of Naju Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Gwangju. The archdiocese explains that the tomb-shaped chapel was established to honor the faith and lives of Peter Yi Chun-hwa, martyred in Naju during the Gihae Persecution of 1839, and Paul Kang Yeong-won, Andrew Yu Chi-seong, and Paul Yu Mun-bo, who died as martyrs in 1872.

Kang Yeong-won and Yu Chi-seong were executed in 1872 in front of Muhakdang, a military training facility of the Naju garrison, while Yu Mun-bo died in prison after severe torture. Some stones believed to have come from the Muhakdang site were later moved to Naju Catholic Church and incorporated into memorial structures and the Way of the Cross. The bishops' committee for beatification and canonization also presents the site as a place connected with the witness of these four martyrs.

This place is therefore best understood not as an independent parish church, but as a memorial space within Naju Catholic Church where visitors remember and pray with the witness of local martyrs. It brings together the history of the parish and the memory of Catholic persecution in late Joseon Korea.

Official source