Francisco Prayer House

About this place

Franciscan House of Prayer is a retreat and prayer facility under the Diocese of Suwon in Seojong-myeon, Yangpyeong. The Catholic Church directory lists the name and address separately under retreat and prayer houses, while the same address and telephone number are also registered for the Conventual Franciscan community known as the Yangpyeong St. Paul Chong Hasang Friary.

The Korean Bishops' Conference nationwide retreat directory likewise introduces the site as the Conventual Franciscans' St. Paul Chong Hasang Friary. The place can therefore be understood as a setting where people may make retreats and spend time in reflection within the prayer life and Franciscan spirituality of the religious community. Unlike a territorial parish church, its distinctive role is to provide a spiritual environment for stepping away from ordinary routines and returning to one's faith through silence and prayer.

Read together, the official retreat listing and the monastery registration indicate that the “House of Prayer” and the “friary” are not unrelated facilities, but two functions of the same Franciscan setting. For the friars it is a house of religious community life, while for retreatants it is a place to stay and pray; the two dimensions meet within the same site.