Gaya Catholic Church

History & origins

Before the parish was established, Catholics in the Gaya area belonged to Seomyeon Parish, and people from Gaya and Gaegeum as well as more distant neighborhoods had to travel to Seomyeon. After Jeonpo Parish was separated, support grew among Catholics in Gaya for a parish of their own, leading to efforts to secure land and petition the diocese. As a result, Gaya Parish was separated from Seomyeon Parish and established on July 5, 1973.

Soon after its establishment, parishioners rented a house for the rectory and organized a committee to build a church. Construction proceeded, and the church was completed in May 1974 and blessed later that month. As the community grew, work on an education building began in December 1979, and it was blessed the following August, expanding the facilities available for catechesis and parish activities.

The growing community also helped prepare new parishes in surrounding areas. In 1984 a committee was formed to develop a church in the Jurye area, and on February 1, 1986, Jurye Parish was separated from Gaya. This history shows that Gaya's development was not limited to constructing its own church; it also involved forming new communities and reshaping pastoral boundaries as the city expanded.