Conventual Franciscan Order

History & origins

The Korean mission of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual began in Busan in October 1958. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, two friars were sent to Korea on October 6 and arrived first in Busan, where they began their apostolate by taking responsibility for Beomil-dong Parish. In the earliest stage of the order's establishment in Korea, Busan was both its point of arrival and a major area of activity.

In August 1960, the friars purchased a church site in Daeyeon-dong, Busan. A kindergarten, friary, and church were then completed in sequence, and the St. Francis orphanage was opened to care for twenty-seven children. The friars also began ministry at the Sangaewon mission for people affected by Hansen's disease, combining parish ministry with social welfare. These records show that Daeyeon-dong was not merely a residence for friars but one of the key early centers where pastoral, educational, and welfare ministries came together.

The order's organization in Korea also developed over time. It was raised to a vice-province in 1975 and to a province in 2001. Alongside parish and social-welfare work, Franciscan apostolates such as support for the Militia of the Immaculata and accompaniment of the Secular Franciscan Order expanded. The current Catholic Directory in Korea identifies the community in Daeyeon-dong as "Busan St. Anthony Friary."

The history of this place therefore belongs to the larger story of a Korean mission that began with the friars' arrival in Busan in 1958, took root through a friary, church, educational work, and welfare activity in Daeyeon-dong in the 1960s, and later expanded with the growth of the order's organization and apostolates. Today's St. Anthony Friary is a Franciscan community that continues the geographic setting of that early Busan mission.