Gigae Catholic Church

History & origins

The Catholic community in Gigye began with the establishment of Gigye Mission Station in 1968. For many years the mission station preserved a place for Catholic life in an area without a resident parish priest. A new stage began when it was elevated to an independent parish on September 4, 2009. At the time, the community was worshipping in a prefabricated panel building of about 139 square meters that had served as the mission station.

After becoming an independent parish, building a new church remained a long-term task. According to the Archdiocese of Daegu, over a period of fifteen years the successive pastors and parishioners visited 42 parishes to ask for help in raising construction funds. Parishioners contributed according to their means and participated in second collections, while also selling mountain vegetables, salted cabbage, sikhye, and side dishes. Masses for benefactors and prayers for the construction of the new church accompanied these practical efforts.

After this long preparation, Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil presided at the dedication Mass of the new church on April 20, 2024. The new complex occupies a 3,951-square-meter site with 839.09 square meters of floor space and consists of three single-story buildings for the church, education center, and rectory. The church seats about 150 people, while the education building includes an office, catechetical rooms, and a hall.

The history of Gigye Catholic Church thus runs from a small rural mission station to an independent parish and finally to the dedication of a new church made possible by years of shared effort. The building project is significant not only for the structure that resulted, but also for the way priests and parishioners accumulated prayer, offerings, and labor together over many years.