Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate

About this place

The Siheung Korean Martyrs Community is a local community of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary within the Diocese of Suwon. The Catholic Church Directory in Korea distinguishes the community in Mulwang-dong under the official secondary name “Siheung Korean Martyrs Community.” Its essential identity is not that of a parish church or shrine, but of a religious community in which sisters live together and carry out the mission of their congregation.

The congregation follows the paths of Mary and St. Francis in serving universal mission and emphasizes a life of being sent beyond boundaries of place and people to proclaim the Gospel. “Korean Martyrs” is the official name identifying this local community, but the publicly available sources do not establish that the site is directly connected with a particular martyr or constitutes a separate historical martyr site. It is therefore important to distinguish the community’s name from the status of a historical shrine.

The directory's separate recording of this community name is also important for distinguishing it from other Franciscan Missionaries of Mary communities in Siheung. In describing the place, the devotional name “Korean Martyrs” should be respected without attaching unverified martyrdom events or heritage claims to the site. What can presently be established is that this is a consecrated religious community of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Mulwang-dong, and its identity is best understood within the congregation's missionary way of life.