Jirye Catholic Church

History & origins

Jirye Parish was established on November 11, 1968, according to the official records of the Archdiocese of Daegu. With a parish-level pastoral base in place to serve Catholics scattered across the mountainous areas of southern Gimcheon, the Catholic community in Jirye became institutionally established. The archdiocesan publication Catholic Golden Newspaper likewise records 1968 as the year in which Jirye Church was established.

The church building from the parish's founding period is connected with the architectural work of Fr. Alwin, who served at Waegwan Abbey of the Order of St. Benedict. A Catholic Times introduction to research on his architecture cites Jirye Church, dated 1968, as an example of his 'radial' plan, in which the altar was placed centrally with spaces opening in two or three directions so that they could also accommodate various community functions on weekdays. Applied to small rural churches, this arrangement illustrates one way Catholic architecture of the period sought to respond both to liturgical space and to the needs of local communities.

The parish's history has continued not only through its main church but also together with mission stations in mountain villages. Current official records of the Archdiocese of Daegu list Hwangjeom, Daedeok, Buhang, and Seomuteo mission stations under Jirye Parish, and an archdiocesan publication likewise describes the parish as connected with several mission stations. In a rural and mountainous environment with a dispersed population, the relationship between the parish and its mission stations became an important pastoral structure for sustaining and linking Catholic communities.

On November 11, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the parish's establishment was marked by a Mass of thanksgiving presided over by the archbishop, during which fifteen people received Confirmation. The sequence from the original pastoral base for a mountain region, through Fr. Alwin's church architecture and the network of mission stations, to the 50th-anniversary liturgy shows how Jirye Church has sustained its Catholic community in response to local conditions.