Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea; National Invocation linked to the thousands of Korean martyrs

Marian vocation of Seoul (South Korea)

In the ecclesial documentation and in the Marian sources consulted there is no official Marian advocation with the title "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" linked to a specific sanctuary in Seoul. The official references are directed, on the one hand, to devotion to the Immaculate Conceptionand, on the other hand, to the liturgical memory and veneration of the Korean martyrs (canonized, beatified or in process).

Main data

Origin and history

In the ecclesial documentation and in the Marian sources consulted there is no official Marian advocation with the title "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" linked to a specific sanctuary in Seoul. The official references are directed, on the one hand, to devotion to the Immaculate Conceptionand, on the other hand, to the liturgical memory and veneration of the Korean martyrs (canonized, beatified or in process).

La documented history shows that the Church in Korea was born and grew in a context of strong persecutions between the 18th and 19th centuries, with thousands of martyrs, including Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, as well as other lay people, catechists and entire families. Pope John Paul II canonized 103 Korean martyrs in 1984, and Pope Francis beatified in 2014 another 124 martyrs, including three of the country's oldest, whose relics were recently found.

La devotional tradition In Korea it strongly associates the Virgin Mary with the martyr Church, but under already established titles (especially the Immaculate Conception, but also other Marian asvocations present in Korean sanctuaries). It is possible that, at the popular or catechetical level, expressions such as "Queen of the martyrs of Korea" may be used to refer to the Virgin in the context of persecutions, but no consta that this title has been set up as an official advocation with its own feast, specific statue and canon recognition.

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The image and the sanctuary

No consta una specific image officially recognized and disseminated under the title "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" in the sanctuaries of Seoul, nor a detailed description (type of size, material, own iconography) with this name in the sources consulted.

In Seoul there are, however, important sanctuaries of the martyrswhere Marian presence and iconography accompany the memory of the witnesses of the faith:

– El Seosomun Martyrs Sanctuary, en Seúl, se describe como un “vivero de la Iglesia coreana”, lugar de ejecución de numerosos mártires. Este santuario es un espacio memorial, con parque, museo y capilla, donde se celebran con frecuencia Eucaristías y actos en honor de los mártires. – La Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Seoul (commonly called Myeongdong Cathedral) is the seat of the Archbishop of Seoul and the main temple of Korean Catholicism. It is officially dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and it keeps the memory of the martyrs and the history of the Church in Korea.

In other parts of Korea, such as Santuario de Namyang, recognized as a place watered by the blood of martyrs, the Virgin is venerated under other claims (for example, "Our Lady of the Holy Rosary" according to devotional testimonies), but there is no official title of "Queen of the Martyrs of Korea."

En consecuencia, no consta an official sanctuary called "Sanctuary of Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" in Seoul, nor an image canonically linked to that title; it does, however, contain an intense presence of the Virgin in temples and martyrdom shrines under already approved Marian titles.

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Sponsorship and coronation

At the official level, the of South Korea es Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, under which the cathedral of Seoul is dedicated and the national patronage is recognized. It is not known that the title "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" appears as the patronage of a diocese, city or nation.

On a canonical coronation under this title (whether diocesan, national or pontifical), there are no verified decrees or news that mention:

– fecha concreta, – pontífice o delegado, – ni acto litúrgico oficial de coronación de una imagen mariana titulada “Reina de los Mártires de Corea”.

Therefore, it should be specified precisely: does not contain a documented canonical coronation for this advocation.

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Party and devotion

In the Korean liturgical calendar the memory of the Santos Andrés Kim Taegon, Pablo Chong Hasang and fellow martyrs, usually on 20 September, with great participation in the Martial Sanctuaries, without this celebration being officially linked to a specific Marian title as "Queen of the Martyrs of Korea."

En Seúl, el Seosomun Sanctuary and other martyrdom places take in pilgrimages, commemorative Masses, processions and acts of veneration of the relics of the martyrs, with the participation of the faithful, priests and bishops. In these contexts, Marian devotion is a natural part of the people's piety, especially through the prayer of the Rosary, the presence of images of the Immaculate and other representations of the Virgin, but there is no collection of a litigation fiesta propia "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea." There is therefore no specific feast for this advocation.

Las popular traditions more documented linked to these places include walking pilgrimages, visits to the execution sites, prayer to relics and catechetical and cultural acts that remember the history of the Church pursued in Korea, without a devotional structure of its own focused on a new Marian title.

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Link to the Rosary

No consta una specific official relationship between an apvocation entitled "Our Lady, Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" and the prayer of the Rosary, beyond the general fact that the Rosary is a very deep-rooted form of Marian prayer among Korean Catholics.

However, from a general Marian perspective, there is a strong connection between:

– la of the martyrs, – la devotion to the Virgin (especialmente bajo el título de la Inmaculada Concepción), y – la práctica del Rosaryin parishes and shrines.

In many sanctuaries of martyrs, the pilgrimages include moments of prayer of the Rosary meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life associated with the witness of the martyrs, who followed Christ until the shed of his blood. So, although the title "Queen of the Martyrs of Korea" is not documented as an official advocation, the figure of Mary, consider