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Korean
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About this place
The official name of Kimhwa Church is Kimhwa St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon Parish, and it belongs to the Western District of the Diocese of Chuncheon. Its present patron is St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Korea’s first native priest and a martyr saint, and the parish serves the Catholic community centered on the Wausu area of Seo-myeon, Cheorwon.
The parish has a distinctive local history in that a small postwar mission-station community in the border region grew into an independent parish. Its present name and patron were not in place unchanged from the moment of foundation but were adopted at an important later turning point in parish history. Understanding Kimhwa therefore involves both the formation of the early community and the reorganization that took place in the 1980s.
History & origins
The Catholic community in the Kimhwa area began in April 1955 when three households gathered for mission-station prayers and services. In 1956 it was incorporated as a mission station of Jukrim-dong Parish, and when Cheorwon Parish was established in 1957 it came under Cheorwon’s jurisdiction. This was the gradual establishment of a postwar Catholic community in the border region within the parish structure.
In March 1959 construction began on a church and rectory. After their completion, a resident missionary was assigned to assist with pastoral work, and relief activities were also carried out. On September 1 of the same year, Kimhwa Mission Station was separated from Cheorwon Parish and elevated to an independent parish. At the time, the parish patron was St. Rita.
In 1984, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the parish, a new church was completed. In commemoration of the bicentennial of the foundation of the Catholic Church in Korea, the parish also changed its patron to St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon. The present official name, Kimhwa St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon Parish, is connected with this 1984 change and reflects the history of a community that grew from a small mission station and later renewed both its church building and its parish identity.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Kimhwa Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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- Data freshness
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- Last updated
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- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Chuncheon Diocese (Diocese of Chuncheon)
Official website: http://www.cccatholic.or.kr
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