Jongro Catholic Church

Overview

Jongno Church is a parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul located in Inui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, established on April 10, 1955 as the 19th parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul. On February 28, 2013, the Archdiocese of Seoul designated this church, whose jurisdiction includes the sites of the Left and Right Podocheong, as the ‘Podocheong Pilgrimage Church,’ making it a central church honoring the martyrdom sites of Seoul.

History

According to ‘Parish Footsteps’ on the Jongno Church website, Archbishop Paul Noh Gi-nam purchased 77 pyeong at 169 Inui-dong, Jongno-gu on June 12, 1944, and Father Jang Geum-gu, pastor of Myeongdong Church, arranged the place as a Catholic mission chapel in 1951 and offered visiting Masses there. On April 10, 1955, with the appointment of Father John Baptist Yi Gye-jung as the first pastor, the parish was established, and for the first few years it was called ‘Jongno 4-ga Church.’ The patron saint was designated as the priest St. John Mary Vianney.

The first church building was a 2-story wooden structure, and on August 12, 1961 a 2-story reinforced brick church was completed next to it and was blessed and dedicated on October 23 of the same year with Archbishop Noh Gi-nam presiding. This church building was demolished on June 18, 1985 under urban planning, and the dedication ceremony for the third church building was held on May 17, 1987 with Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan presiding. On January 1, 1972, Dongdaemun Church was separated from this parish. In 1968, forest land in the Gwangtan-myeon area of Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do was purchased, and on May 19, 1972 the official name of the cemetery was set as ‘Catholic Jongno Church Nazareth Park Cemetery.’

Father Paul Hong Geun-pyo, who took office as the 15th pastor on August 30, 2011, carried out research shedding light on the martyrdom history of the Left and Right Podocheong with the cooperation of the Yangup Church History Research Institute. On the basis of this, on February 28, 2013 Archbishop Yeom Soo-jung designated Jongno Parish as the ‘Podocheong Pilgrimage Church’ and approved changing the parish patron saints to ‘the Podocheong martyr saints and St. John Mary Vianney.’ On September 2 of the same year, the blessing ceremony for the ‘Podocheong Martyrs Memorial Hall’ and the bronze relief ‘Suffering and Glory’ was held, and Podocheong (prison site) Pilgrimage Routes A and B were proclaimed.

Architecture and Space

According to the Jongno Church website, the third church building dedicated in 1987 has catechesis rooms, a machine room and a parking lot in the basement, the church on floors 1 to 2, the Labor Pastoral Center on floors 3 to 4, and the rectory and convent on floor 5. On July 28, 2011, there was a blessing ceremony for a pipe organ made by the German company Thomas Jahn. According to Good News, within the church grounds there is the ‘Podocheong (Prison Site) Martyrs Memorial Hall’ informing about the events that occurred at the Left and Right Podocheong (prison sites), and on the outer wall of the church stands the bronze relief ‘Suffering and Glory’ created by Professor Kim Il-young.

Significance in Faith and Context for Visiting

Good News explains that the Left Podocheong stood on the former Danseongsa site, and the Right Podocheong stood between the Gwanghwamun Post Office and the Ilmin Museum of Art. According to the Martyrs Veneration Committee, of 103 saints, 22 were martyred at the Podocheong, and of 124 blesseds, 5 were martyred at the Podocheong, and at the Podocheong Bishop Imbert and Fathers Maubant and Chastan received interrogation and punishment before being dragged to the execution ground. The Martyrs Veneration Committee states that Jongno Church was approved as the Podocheong Pilgrimage Church because it has jurisdiction over the area where the Left and Right Podocheong and government offices such as the Uigeumbu, Hyeongjo and Jeonokseo were located.

Good News introduces two walking pilgrimage courses starting from Jongno Church, passing the sites of the Left and Right Podocheong and other places, to Myeongdong Church and Yakhyeon Church in Jungnim-dong. It is also guided as the fifth pilgrimage site of Course 1, the ‘Way of the Word,’ of the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route.

Related Places and People

• Sites of the Left Podocheong and Right Podocheong: martyrdom sites of the Podocheong under the jurisdiction of Jongno Church.
• Sites of the Uigeumbu, Hyeongjo, Jeonokseo and Gyeonggi Gamyeong: government office sites from the persecution period belonging to Course 2, the ‘Way of Life,’ of the Seoul Pilgrimage Route.
• Peter Yu Dae-cheol and Francis Choi Kyung-hwan: saints martyred at the Podocheong.
• Yakhyeon Church in Jungnim-dong and Myeongdong Cathedral: churches connected by the Podocheong pilgrimage route.

References and Sources

1. Jongno Church of the Archdiocese of Seoul, ‘Parish Footsteps.’ Verified land purchase and mission chapel, parish establishment in 1955, church construction and dedication, separation, cemetery, designation as Podocheong pilgrimage church and blessing of the memorial hall.
   http://www.jongnocc.or.kr/18
2. Good News Catholic Information, ‘Jongno Church of the Archdiocese of Seoul (Podocheong Pilgrimage Church).’ Verified Podocheong location, designation as pilgrimage church, memorial hall and bronze relief, and walking pilgrimage guidance.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=4111&menugubun=holyplace
3. Martyrs Veneration Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul, ‘Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, Way of the Word (Course 1).’ Verified the numbers of Podocheong martyr saints and blesseds and the background of Jongno Church’s approval as a pilgrimage church, and the order of Course 1.
   https://martyrs.or.kr/_web/mpilgrims/aboutcourse.html?cidx=6