Samsungsan Shrine

Overview

The Samseongsan Shrine is a Catholic shrine located at the foot of Samseongsan Mountain in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. It is the place where the remains of the three French missionaries — Bishop Saint Imbert and Fathers Saint Maubant and Saint Chastan — martyred at Saenamteo during the Gihae Persecution in 1839 were enshrined for 58 years from 1843 to 1901, and it is administered by Samseongsan Parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul.

History

The name “Samseongsan” is recorded in materials of the Special Episcopal Commission for Beatification and Canonization as deriving from its being the place where 3 eminent monks of Silla, including Wonhyo, Uisang and Yunpil, practiced monastic life. The Samseongsan Parish website introduces it as deriving from its being the place where eminent monks of late Goryeo such as Naong, Muak and Jigong practiced monastic life, so explanations differ from source to source.

The three missionaries were martyred at Saenamteo on September 21, 1839 (August 14 by the lunar calendar) by beheading under military law. According to the Special Episcopal Commission for Beatification and Canonization and Good News, their remains were left on the sandy shore at Saenamteo for more than 20 days, then were recovered by the faithful and temporarily buried at Nogosan (Good News notes it as the hill behind the present Sogang University), and in 1843 Paul Pak and others moved them to the Pak family burial ground at the foot of Samseongsan Mountain and reinterred them. The Samseongsan Parish website explains that at the time the epitaph written in charcoal powder on the coffin lid gave the year of reburial as 1843.

The three were declared Venerable in 1857. On October 21, 1901, in the presence of Bishop Mutel, their remains were exhumed under the direction of Peter Pak Sun-jip, son of Paul Pak, moved to Yongsan Sacred Heart Seminary, and on November 2 placed in the crypt beneath Myeongdong Church. The three were beatified in 1925 and canonized by Pope John Paul 2 on May 6, 1984.

Thereafter, the former grave site at Samseongsan was rediscovered in spring 1970 by Father O Gi-seon, pastor of Daebang-dong Parish, on the basis of documentary research, and on May 12 of the same year a monument inscribed “Samseongsan Martyrs’ Shrine Monument” was erected on the site of the old tomb and a blessing ceremony was held. On September 6, 1981, parishioners of Sillim-dong Parish held an unveiling ceremony for the tombstones of the three Blesseds, and on September 10, 1989, the saints’ tombs were newly arranged, part of the saints’ relics kept in the crypt area beneath Myeongdong Church were enshrined here again, and a blessing rite was celebrated. With the establishment of Samseongsan Parish on September 24, 1992, administration of the shrine was entrusted to this parish.

Architecture and Grounds

According to the Samseongsan Parish website, the shrine contains the tombs of the three saints, an altar, a statue of the Virgin Mary, and 14 Stations of the Cross, of which Station 14 was installed in April 2002. The same website explains that, as this shrine lies on the Gwanaksan ridge, its land category is park green space and it is also a hiking trail open even to non-believers.

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Samseongsan Parish website introduces that shrine Mass is offered at 11 o’clock every Sunday, and a martyrs’ exaltation Mass commemorating the day on which the three saints were martyred is regularly offered on the 21st of each month. Materials of the Special Episcopal Commission for Beatification and Canonization treat Samseongsan Shrine as one of the shrines related to beatification and canonization.

Related Places and People

• Saenamteo Martyrs’ Shrine: the place where the three missionaries were martyred.
• Nogosan Shrine: the place where the remains were temporarily buried before being moved to Samseongsan.
• Myeongdong Cathedral: it has the underground crypt area where the remains were enshrined after 1901.
• Saint Imbert (Lawrence), bishop, Saint Maubant (Peter), priest, and Saint Chastan (James), priest: the martyr saints who were enshrined here.

References and Sources

1. Special Episcopal Commission for Beatification and Canonization (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea), related shrine “Samseongsan Shrine”. Verified the martyrdom of the three missionaries, their burial at Nogosan and Samseongsan, the exhumation in 1901, and the years of beatification and canonization.
   https://cbck.or.kr/koreanmartyrs/Shrines/70
2. Samseongsan Parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul, “Guide to the Shrine”. Verified the reburial in 1843, the exhumation and reburial in 1901, the monument in 1970, the projects in 1981 and 1989, the establishment of the parish in 1992, the 14 Stations and the exaltation Mass.
   https://www.ssssd.or.kr/?page_id=2032
3. Samseongsan Parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul, “History of the Shrine”. Verified the origin of the name Samseongsan, the distribution of the relics in 1924, the process of erecting the monument in 1970, and the blessing of the tombs in 1989.
   https://www.ssssd.or.kr/?page_id=1969
4. Good News (Archdiocese of Seoul), Catholic information “Archdiocese of Seoul > Nogosan Shrine”. Verified how the remains were temporarily buried at Nogosan and then moved to Samseongsan, and the enshrinement in the underground crypt of Myeongdong Church in 1901.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/mobile/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=2835&menugubun=holyplace