Gaeun Catholic Church

History & origins

The beginnings of the parish in Gaeun go back to May 1957. Historical records of the Diocese of Andong state that the “Gaeun (Wangneung) Parish” was established at that time and that Father Ernst Siebertz, a Benedictine, arrived as its first pastor. This was a period when the Waegwan Apostolic Vicariate administration and missionary religious orders were expanding the parish structure of northern Gyeongsangbuk-do.

When Mungyeong Parish was established the following year, Father Siebertz was assigned to care for both Mungyeong and Gaeun. This diocesan record shows that Gaeun began as a distinct parish while its early pastoral life remained closely connected with neighboring missionary centers.

The Diocese of Andong estimates that relics and devotional objects of Saint John Mary Vianney were brought to Korea around 1958 by Father Siebertz. When the Diocese of Andong was erected in 1969, Gaeun was recorded as one of the eighteen parishes that formed the new diocese. In this way, the parish community of Gaeun developed from a missionary foundation of the 1950s into part of the early parish structure of the Diocese of Andong.