Olivetano Sisters of Saint Benedict

History & origins

The local history of the Cheongju branch can be traced in connection with the growth of 사천동본당. The Catholic Encyclopedia of Korea entry on 사천동 records that a branch of the “Busan Benedictine Sisters” was opened on August 25, 1994. The current Catholic directory lists a community in the same local context as the “Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan (Daejeon District: Cheongju Branch),” confirming the present identity of the branch that has continued in Cheongju.

The broader roots of the institute reach back to the “Holy Cross Convent” in 연길, Manchuria. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture explains that sisters from Switzerland were sent to 연길 in 1931 and formed a community there. After the convent was dissolved following liberation, fourteen Korean sisters moved south and resumed their work, including service at Sacred Heart Orphanage in Cheongju. The community later consolidated its base in Busan, adopted the official name “Olivetan Benedictine Sisters” in 1973, and became an autonomous priory in 1981.

Within this longer history, the Cheongju branch established a concrete local presence in the 사천동 area during the 1990s. Its continued listing in the official Catholic directory as a community of consecrated life in the Diocese of Cheongju makes this place a point where the institute’s wider history in Korea meets the specific history of its Cheongju branch.