Catholic University of Korea Seongshin Campus

Overview

The Songsin Campus of the Catholic University of Korea is a seminary campus in Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and the seminary church enshrines the remains of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon, the first Korean priest. It is introduced as the seventh pilgrimage site on Route 1 of the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, the ‘Way of the Word,’ and continues the history of priestly formation that began in 1855 at Baeron Saint Joseph Seminary.

History

According to the chronology on the website of the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Seoul, in 1855 Father Maistre founded Saint Joseph Seminary at Baeron in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do. In March 1866, as Fathers Pourthie and Petitnicolas were martyred during the Byeongin Persecution, education was interrupted, and on October 28, 1885, the seminary was rebuilt at ‘Bueonggol’ and named Sacred Heart Seminary. In March 1887 it moved to the vicinity of Hambyeokjeong in Yongsan, Seoul (now Wonhyo-ro 4-ga), and on April 26, 1896, for the first time in Korea, three priests—Kang Seong-sam, Jeong Gyu-ha, and Kang Do-yeong—received priestly ordination at Yakhyeon Church.

On February 16, 1942, education at Yongsan Seminary was suspended by the Japanese authorities. In 1945, as it was agreed to exchange the Hyehwa-dong property owned by the Paris Foreign Missions Society and the former Yongsan Seminary site owned by the Seoul Vicariate, the ‘Yongsan era’ of the major seminary ended and the ‘Hyehwa-dong era’ began. The school was renamed Gyeongseong Catholic Seminary in 1945, was approved for elevation to Seongsin College on April 30, 1947, and was approved for the change to Catholic College on February 12, 1959. GoodNews explains that in 1995 it merged with Sacred Heart Women’s University to take on the form of a comprehensive university. On December 15, 2018, the School of Theology of the Catholic University of Korea and the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Seoul were separated.

Buildings and Spaces

According to the ‘History of Priestly Formation’ of the Liturgy Museum of the Catholic University of Korea, on July 5, 1960, together with the blessing of the present major seminary church, the remains of Father Kim Dae-geon were transferred here from Yongsan. The same source records that on May 23, 1901, the remains of Father Kim Dae-geon were enshrined at the Yongsan Seminary, and on February 17, 1994, the wooden coffin was dismantled and the remains were placed in a reliquary and enshrined in a stone sarcophagus beside the altar. The Catholic Newspaper reported that most of Father Kim Dae-geon’s remains are now enshrined in the stone sarcophagus on the right side of the Songsin Campus church, and the skull (frontal bone, zygomatic bone, and maxilla) is placed in the glass case in the center below the tabernacle.

Significance for Faith and Visiting Context

The Committee for the Exaltation of Martyrs introduces that, as part of Father Kim Dae-geon’s remains are enshrined in the Songsin Campus church, seminarians still today seek to follow his example and become true shepherds. GoodNews calls this place the ‘seedbed of priestly vocations continuing the Baeron, Bueonggol, and Yongsan seminaries.’

Related Places and People

• Yongsan Sacred Heart Seminary: the predecessor of the Songsin Campus, the seminary that had moved to Seoul in 1887 and whose education was suspended by the Japanese authorities in 1942.
• Baeron Shrine: the place where Saint Joseph Seminary was founded in 1855.
• Gahoe-dong Church and Seokjeong Boreum Well: pilgrimage sites belonging together to Route 1 of the Seoul Pilgrimage Route, the ‘Way of the Word.’
• Andrew Kim Dae-geon: the first Korean priest, whose remains are enshrined in the Songsin Campus church.

References and Sources

1. Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Seoul, ‘Chronology of the Major Seminary and Priestly Formation.’ The foundation, rebuilding, and moves of the seminary after 1855, the Yongsan and Hyehwa-dong eras, changes of school name, and the separation in 2018 were confirmed.
   https://songsin.catholic.ac.kr/seminarium/unitycircle/timeline.do
2. Liturgy Museum of the Catholic University of Korea, ‘History of Priestly Formation.’ The enshrinement of Father Kim Dae-geon’s remains at Yongsan (1901), the blessing of the present seminary church and the transfer of the remains (1960), and the circumstances of the enshrinement in 1994 were confirmed.
   https://press.catholic.ac.kr/museum/galleryinfo/history02.do
3. Martyrs Exaltation Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul, ‘Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, Way of the Word (Route 1).’ It was confirmed that the Songsin Campus is the seventh pilgrimage site on Route 1 and the meaning of the church.
   https://martyrs.or.kr/_web/mpilgrims/aboutcourse.html?cidx=6
4. GoodNews Catholic Information, ‘Church of the Songsin Campus of the Catholic University.’ The meaning of the church, the lineage of the school, and the integration in 1995 were confirmed.
   https://app.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2287
5. Catholic Newspaper, ‘Shrines and Churches Enshrining the Remains of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon’ (2016). The present location of the remains was confirmed.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/201606280161177