Angang Catholic Church

History & origins

The Catholic community in Angang began to take clear shape in the mid-1950s. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Lee In-cheol embraced the Catholic faith through Margarita, a nurse he met at Maryknoll Hospital, and began evangelizing in Angang in 1956. Eight people were baptized that December, followed by five more in February of the next year, forming the nucleus of a small Catholic community.

With the support of Father Yoon Gwang-je of Gyeongju Parish, the community acquired a hall in May 1957 and formally established a mission station in June. As the community grew, it moved the mission station to a larger location in July 1959, and in the spring of 1960 land was secured at the site of the present church. The development marked the community’s transition from household gatherings to a dedicated mission-station space.

Angang was raised to parish status on May 13, 1967, with Father Lee Myeong-u serving as the first pastor. A new church was completed on October 12 of the same year, and in January 1968 a mission station was established in the Gigye area, extending the parish’s pastoral reach. From its earliest years as a parish, church construction and ministry to outlying communities thus developed together.

Saetbyeol Kindergarten opened in January 1969, creating a further point of contact with local education. The parish subsequently strengthened its educational facilities and community organizations, while the apostolate of religious sisters also became part of its life. Today Angang Church continues a history that grew step by step from a small 1950s Catholic gathering into a mission station, parish, and center of educational ministry. By the time the mission station moved in 1959, the community had grown to about eighty Catholics, and the new site secured in 1960 measured roughly six hundred pyeong. In 1988, the rectory and convent were also renewed, further stabilizing the parish’s permanent pastoral base.