Seolcheon

History & origins

The beginnings of Seolcheon Mission Station are traced to April 3, 1977. Im Han-taek Augustine, who had recently entered the Catholic Church, asked Fr. James Kim Dong-jun of Muju Parish to designate one room of his home as a mission station, and communal prayers began there. In August of the same year, twelve people, including members of Im’s family, received baptism. As the number of baptized Catholics grew substantially over the next six years, a separate church building became necessary.

For the new mission station, Choi Hae-gwan Andrew donated land, but access-road problems made construction approval difficult. The Catholics therefore raised funds through agricultural production and sales and acquired the present site. Fr. Moses Lee Sang-seop designed the building, a Catholic carpenter undertook the construction, and members of the mission station contributed both labor and offerings, sometimes setting aside their regular work to help.

About eight years and eight months after the first mission-station prayers, a 138-square-meter brick church with a slate roof was completed on a 1,824-square-meter site. On December 5, 1985, Bishop Park Jeong-il presided at its dedication. This process shows that Seolcheon was not simply a facility established from outside, but a sacred space created as local Catholics themselves responded to the needs of their growing faith community.