지좌 성당

History & origins

The Catholic history of the Jijwa area reaches back before the establishment of the parish. CPBC’s “Today in Catholic History” reports that the first baptism in the area took place in 1870, that a group of Catholics formed around lay leader Andrew Kwon in 1893, and that in 1913 the Majam (Jijwa) mission station was established under Gimcheon Parish.

In 1935 the Majam (Jijwa) community was elevated to parish status. In 1943 it again became a mission station under Gimcheon Parish, and in 1958 a new church was built, reestablishing a physical base for the community.

The community was elevated to parish status again on August 30, 1970, continuing the line of the present Jijwa Parish. The archdiocese also records the celebration of Confirmation at Jijwa Church in 2021, confirming that the community has continued its sacramental life since its reestablishment.

The history of Jijwa Church thus includes an organized Catholic group, a mission station, a first elevation to parish status, a return to mission status, construction of a church, and a second elevation to parish status. The present parish is best understood not as the result of a single founding moment but as the outcome of a Catholic community in the Gimcheon area that endured through several institutional changes.