Pocheon Catholic Church

History & origins

One of the earliest Catholic communities documented in the Pocheon area is the Mageundami mission station, established around 1900 in Sinpal-ri, Naechon-myeon. The area passed through the jurisdiction of several parishes, including Yakhyeon in Seoul, Yongmun in Yangpyeong, Pyeonggang in northern Gangwon, and Sinam-ri, and from 1933 belonged to Deokjeong-ri Parish. After a period of pastoral care by military chaplains, it was elevated to Pocheon Parish on February 21, 1956.

At its establishment, the parish covered a very wide territory encompassing most of present-day Pocheon. In November 1969, a diocesan boundary reorganization transferred Pocheon County from the Archdiocese of Seoul to the Diocese of Chuncheon, and Pocheon Parish became part of the Diocese of Chuncheon. As local communities grew, several new parishes were later separated from it.

On July 11, 1990, the existing church was destroyed by arson. Even in its damaged state, the stone structure was recognized for its historical value as a postwar church building and was registered as cultural heritage. The parish dedicated a new church on December 10, 1992. In 2014, when Pocheon natives Hong Gyo-man and Hong In were beatified and the diocese proclaimed its first martyr shrine in Pocheon, the parish's role in preserving the region's martyr tradition became even more visible.