SPOTLIGHT 26/05/02 Korean Catholics open pilgrimage trail honoring Irish missionary

[성기화 요셉]

Patrick James McGlinchey won Magsaysay Award in 1975 for serving people on Jeju Island

Clergy and parishioners of Hallim Church cut ribbons to inaugurate the Im P.J. Miracle Trail on May 2. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: May 06, 2026 11:48 AM GMT

Updated: May 06, 2026 12:01 PM GMT

A Catholic diocese in South Korea has launched a pilgrimage trail to commemorate an Irish missionary who won the Magsaysay award and worked for more than six decades helping people of Jeju Island.

The pilgrimage path opened on May 2 commemorates the life and work of Columban priest Patrick James McGlinchey (1928–2018), a recipient of the 1975 Ramon Magsaysay award.

The trail, called Im P.J. Miracle Trail, is named after McGlinchey’s moniker Im P.J and has two sections — a long route of 12.5 kilometers and a short route of 5.5 kilometers.

Father Andrew Choi Hyun-cheol, rector of Hallim Parish in Jeju diocese, expressed hope that “those who walk this trail will see it as an opportunity to take a step forward toward a life of sharing and service, going beyond a simple pilgrimage.”

The pilgrimage routes start at the Hallim church bell tower and pass through a shipwreck site, which marks the beginning of the parish’s history and served as a key hub for the evangelization of western Jeju.

The parishioners and other Jeju residents used lumber from the wreckage of the American cargo ship Matthew to construct the church.

Bishop Pius Moon Chang-woo of Jeju initiated the construction of the pilgrimage trail to honor McGlinchey, who arrived in Jeju in 1954 at the age of 26 and spent nearly 64 years improving the lives of the island’s residents.

He arrived in Jeju soon after the Korean War (1950-53) and helped Jeju’s residents, who faced extreme poverty, to become self-sufficient by teaching modern farming methods and encouraging cooperative work.

He established the Saint Isidore Farm in 1961, where local pigs were bred and then distributed to the locals to help them earn a living. His work earned him the nickname Pig Priest.

The farm eventually expanded and housed more than 1,000 pigs and hundreds of cows and sheep, the Korea Times reported.

The farm remains operational, with cattle and native horses, and produces milk to help fund a hospice associated with it.

He also launched a weaving factory, creating jobs for young women who otherwise had to leave the island for work. The factory employed some 1,300 women at its prime.

McGlinchey also established a community bank to make financial services more accessible to islanders, followed by an elderly care facility that now provides free care for terminally ill patients, the Korea Times reported.

McGlinchey died of a heart-related disease in 2018, and the South Korean government bestowed an honorary citizenship upon him in the same year.

*This is a translated and edited version of the article that was published by the Catholic Times of Korea on May 4, 2026. It is republished with permission.