Olivetano Sisters of Saint Benedict

History & origins

The Korean history of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters began in 1931 in Yanji. Six sisters were sent from the Holy Cross Convent in Cham, Switzerland, arrived in Yanji, and established the Holy Cross Convent there. Korean vocations followed, but after liberation the convent was closed and foreign sisters were expelled, forcing a major transition. Fourteen Korean sisters who remained came south in 1947–1948 and resumed community life and apostolic work.

The congregation’s bond with Busan deepened during this period of rebuilding. In 1949, four sisters were assigned to Jungang Parish in Busan, and after the Korean War displaced the community, the sisters settled in Busan and opened St. Benedict Charity Hospital in Choryang-dong in 1951. Their apostolates later expanded beyond health care into parishes, education, and social welfare. After establishing a novitiate in Gwangan-dong, the community continued to develop; in 1973 it adopted the present name “Olivetan Benedictine Sisters,” and in 1981 the Holy See recognized it as an autonomous congregation. As membership grew, a district system for Busan, Daejeon, and Seoul was established in 1991.

At the Busan District in Dongdaesin-dong, “Eco Oliveto” was later established as one expression of a new direction in the congregation’s apostolate, and the space was blessed in March 2023. Its establishment can be seen as a development in which a congregation long engaged in medical, parish, educational, and social-welfare ministries in Busan gave concrete form within its apostolic life to the contemporary call for ecological conversion and care for our common home. The congregation’s history, which began in Yanji and passed through displacement and resettlement, thus continues in Busan through the adoption of new forms of apostolic service.