Daecheon Catholic Church

History & origins

Daecheon Parish was established on October 1, 2008. Its first pastor, Father Joseph Lee Jae-young, gathered the faithful for Sunday Mass in Andrea Hall at Daegun Middle and High School, while weekday Masses were celebrated in parishioners’ homes. A few months later, a prefabricated church was erected on the present site, giving the community a regular place in which to assemble.

The parish later began fundraising for a permanent church, but the project was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As fundraising and construction preparations resumed, the community at one stage used the auditorium of Hyosung Elementary School as a temporary place for Mass. The process therefore involved more than a single construction project: it was a long-term communal effort carried through a succession of provisional worship spaces.

On July 7, 2024, sixteen years after the parish was established, the new church was dedicated. The building has one basement level and three floors above ground, with a 338-seat church on the second floor and additional facilities including catechetical rooms, a hall, and offices. The path from a school hall and parishioners’ homes to a prefabricated chapel and finally a permanent church illustrates how Daecheon Parish took root gradually through the needs and participation of its community.