About this place
Samseongsan Martyrs' Shrine is a martyr shrine of the Archdiocese of Seoul at 454-16 Hoam-ro, Gwanak-gu. It is the place where the remains of three Paris Foreign Missions missionaries—Saint Bishop Laurent Imbert, Saint Father Pierre Maubant, and Saint Father Jacques Chastan, who were martyred at Saenamteo during the Gihae Persecution of 1839—were buried from the mid-nineteenth century until 1901.
The shrine is now cared for by Samseongsan Parish and continues as a pilgrimage place honoring the faith of the three priest-martyrs. In a mountainside setting close to central Seoul, it preserves the memory of their graves and invites pilgrims to contemplate both the history of persecution in the Korean Church and the veneration of its saints.
History & origins
Bishop Imbert and Fathers Maubant and Chastan were martyred at Saenamteo on September 21, 1839. Catholics recovered their bodies, first burying them at Nogosan and then transferring them to Samseongsan in 1843. The graves were later identified through testimony including that of Peter Park Sun-jip, and in October 1901 the remains were exhumed, taken to the Sacred Heart Seminary in Yongsan, and then transferred on November 2 to the crypt of Myeongdong Cathedral.
The old burial site was rediscovered in 1970 and a memorial was erected. The unveiling of a monument to the three Blesseds and a commemorative Mass in 1981 helped begin systematic development of the site as a shrine. The three martyrs were canonized on May 6, 1984. In 1989 some relics remaining at Myeongdong Cathedral were returned to the newly arranged tomb at Samseongsan, and when Samseongsan Parish was established in 1992 it assumed responsibility for the shrine.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Samsungsan Shrine: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 1
- 2 above-ground floors · 2 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 2000
- Total floor area: 4,467㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Official source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Official website: https://aos.catholic.or.kr
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