Archdiocese of Seoul Organizes Month-Long Pilgrimage in Honor of Korean Martyrs

The Archdiocese of Seoul will host a month-long pilgrimage this September in honor of the Holy Month of Martyrs.

The event will feature the Vatican-recognized Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, which spans over 44 kilometers across three courses and connects 24 shrines dedicated to Korean martyrs.

According to the archdiocese’s website, the program, titled “September Love Companion: Pilgrims of Hope”, will open on September 1 with a Holy Mass led by Auxiliary Bishop Job Yobi Koo, chair of the Committee for Honoring Martyrs.

Pilgrims’ passports will be available for purchase along the route, with stamps provided at each shrine. The pilgrimages will take place throughout September.

The initiative also serves as a donation drive for the archdiocese’s charitable works. Over the past six years, the event has raised a total of 161,159,808 won (approximately USD $115,900).

The pilgrimage will conclude on September 28 with a Holy Mass at the Seosomun Catholic Martyrs Shrine, where participants who complete the route can submit their stamped passports.

The Holy See officially recognized the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route on September 14, 2018, as part of efforts to preserve cultural heritage and foster religious renewal. The guidebook notes: “Pilgrims are offered a chance to learn about God through the lives of the saints who laid down their lives for their faith. This new sensitivity is an invitation to deeper and more profound conversion.”

Since then, September has been designated as the month to walk the pilgrimage route, coinciding with the Holy Month of Martyrs.

South Korea’s history of persecution saw more than 10,000 Catholics martyred over a century, among whom 103 have been canonized as saints and are commemorated annually on September 20.