양주순교성지

History & origins

After the Diocese of Uijeongbu was created in 2004, diocesan research into Catholic history in northern Gyeonggi led to the rediscovery of the martyrdom site near the former Yangju government office recorded in the Chimyong Ilgi. Land was acquired on the basis of testimony recalling an old marker for the martyr site, and Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon celebrated the formal proclamation Mass for the shrine on May 28, 2016.

The first Mass at the shrine was celebrated on September 23, 2017. A resident priest, pilgrim house and chapel, Marian garden, and other facilities were subsequently developed. The new church hosted its first Mass at the Easter Vigil on April 19, 2025, and was formally dedicated on September 20 of that year. The modern history of Yangju Shrine thus runs from rediscovery of the martyr site to formal proclamation and the completion of a permanent church.