Gyesan Cathedral

History & origins

The history of Gyesan Cathedral on its present site began in earnest in March 1897, when construction started on a cross-shaped church in traditional Korean wooden architecture. That church was consecrated on December 25, 1898, but was destroyed by fire in February 1901. Father Robert Kim Bo-rok and the Catholic community quickly began rebuilding, completing a brick church in December 1902. On November 1, 1903, Bishop Gustave Mutel consecrated the new church, establishing the Gothic structure that became the present Gyesan Cathedral.

Official diocesan sources record that lay Catholics including Seo Sang-don, Jeong Gyu-ok, and Gim Jong-hak supported the rebuilding effort. The church erected after the fire became an early Western-style Gothic church in Daegu, and its twin towers formed a distinctive sign of modern architecture in the city. The fact that the project was carried forward not by a missionary alone but through the participation of local Catholics is also an important feature of its Church history.

In 1911, Pope Pius X established the Apostolic Vicariate of Daegu and Bishop Florian Demange, known in Korea as An Se-hwa, arrived as its first Ordinary, making Gyesan the cathedral of the new jurisdiction. In 1918 and 1919, the sanctuary and the two wings were enlarged as the diocese grew. The sequence from the first Korean-style church, through fire and rebuilding in brick Gothic form, to the creation of the Daegu vicariate and later enlargement made Gyesan Cathedral one of the central historical sites of the early Archdiocese of Daegu.