Yecheon Catholic Church

History & origins

Yecheon Parish was established on May 22, 1932, and Fr. Dominic Lee Gi-sun was appointed its first pastor. The historical chronology of the Diocese of Andong records this date as the parish's foundation. Yecheon County annals add that the first pastor arrived in June, began construction of the church and related buildings, and that the church was completed in September and consecrated by the diocesan bishop in November, when Confirmation was also celebrated. With this, the Catholic community of Yecheon gained a more stable pastoral base centered on a permanent parish.

The parish continued to grow as a center of local Catholic life. The diocesan chronology records that in 1967 the parish youth group began publishing the Yecheon Catholic Church bulletin, showing that the community developed not only liturgical life but also channels for formation and communication. This development supported the parish's wider role in connecting Catholics in Yecheon-eup with believers in surrounding rural mission stations.

On February 18, 1994, an electrical fire destroyed the church. The parish broke ground for a new church in May of that year and rebuilt through its own fundraising together with assistance from other parishes of the Diocese of Andong and Catholics from other dioceses. The new church was dedicated on June 6, 1995. The rebuilding after the fire remains a significant episode of local effort and solidarity within the Korean Church, and the present parish continues Yecheon's Catholic history on that foundation.