Samrangjin Catholic Church

History & origins

The direct history of Samnangjin Parish begins on January 1, 1930. The Catholic Encyclopedia of Korea explains that Fr. Mark Kwon Yeong-jo transferred Myeongnye Parish to Samnangjin, marking the beginning of the parish's history, and the current Catholic directory gives the same date as the parish's establishment. Before this, a temporary church was prepared at Eupsil in 1928, and land was purchased at Ugok in 1929 for a church, rectory, and related facilities before the new parish formally began in 1930.

In 1935 the community secured a site in Songji-ri, completed a new church, and had it blessed, thereby establishing a more permanent base. Around 1940, however, the center of pastoral activity moved to Miryang, and Samnangjin became a mission station dependent on Miryang Parish. After the church property was disposed of, Catholics continued their life of faith for a time in private homes and other settings. Even as the pastoral center shifted, the Catholic community of Samnangjin itself did not disappear.

In March 1957 Samnangjin was elevated again to parish status. Records indicate that another period as a mission station followed for a time, but priests resumed serving the community in the 1960s and the parish structure continued. Samnangjin's history is therefore not a simple straight line beginning with a single foundation, but a story of a community that preserved its faith while moving between parish and mission-station status in response to changing pastoral circumstances.

The historical meaning of today's Samnangjin Catholic Church lies in this continuity. Through the 1930 foundation, the transfer of the pastoral center to Miryang, periods as a mission station, and restoration as a parish, the local community endured and now continues that history as a parish of the Samgye district in the Diocese of Busan.