St. Benedict Monastery and former Waegwan Catholic Church
Parish
성 베네딕도회 왜관수도원과 구 왜관성당
About this place
Waegwan Abbey of the Order of St. Benedict and the Old Waegwan Catholic Church together form an official pilgrimage site of the Archdiocese of Daegu in Waegwan-eup, Chilgok County. The site brings together the monastic community of Waegwan Abbey and the former Waegwan parish church preserved within the monastery grounds. The abbey continues the Benedictine tradition of prayer and work while also serving the Korean Church and the local community through publishing, education, retreats, and social ministries.
The old Waegwan church preserves both the history of the local parish and visible traces of the Korean War and is now protected as a Registered Cultural Heritage of Korea. The archdiocese designated the abbey and old church together as a pilgrimage site because monastic prayer, local parish faith, and memories of war and persecution overlap in this one place. Visitors can encounter the living monastic community alongside the historic church and reflect on a faith that endured the wounds of modern Korean history and continues to point toward reconciliation.
History & origins
The roots of Waegwan Abbey go back to 1909, when Benedictine missionaries from St. Ottilien in Germany established a monastery in Hyehwa-dong, Seoul. The community moved to Deokwon in South Hamgyong Province in 1927 and founded another monastery in Yanji, Manchuria, the following year. Under the communist regime, however, the monasteries and seminary in the north were closed, and the monks endured persecution, war, and displacement.
During the Korean War, monks who had fled to Busan later passed through the diocesan offices in Daegu and Gasil Parish before settling in Waegwan in 1952 and re-establishing monastic life there. Waegwan Abbey subsequently expanded its service through retreats, education, publishing and printing, crafts, and social welfare. These ministries helped establish the abbey not simply as a residence for monks but as a community involved in the rebuilding of the Korean Church and in service to the local region.
The old Waegwan church predates the abbey's settlement in Waegwan. Waegwan Parish built a church dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1928, and in 1932 a Romanesque church with Gothic elements was dedicated. Waegwan Abbey assumed responsibility for the parish in 1952. After the present parish church was dedicated in 1967, the former church building was preserved within the abbey grounds. During the Korean War it had served both as a U.S. military operations headquarters and as a North Korean military hospital, leaving visible traces of war on its red bricks.
The old Waegwan church was designated a Registered Cultural Heritage of Korea on February 13, 2025. On September 8 of the same year, the Archdiocese of Daegu designated “Waegwan Abbey and the Old Waegwan Catholic Church” as an official pilgrimage site. Holding together monastic prayer and work, parish history, and the scars of war, the site now serves not only to preserve the past but also as a place of pilgrimage for reflection on faith, peace, and reconciliation.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
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- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
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Official website: http://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr
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