당진 성당

History & origins

Dangjin Parish was established on June 24, 1939. The Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea records this as the official foundation date, and the Digital Dangjin Cultural Encyclopedia likewise describes it as a parish of the Diocese of Daejeon founded in 1939. As the Catholic community grew in central Dangjin and the surrounding area, the parish became an important foundation for Catholic pastoral life in the region.

As the city’s population and Catholic population increased, the parish territory was divided in stages. According to the Digital Dangjin Cultural Encyclopedia, Gijisi Parish was separated from Dangjin Parish in 2003, followed by Dangjin Sucheong Parish in 2011. This history shows how a central parish responded to regional growth by giving rise to new parish communities and reorganizing pastoral territory.

The parish also continued to adapt its physical space to a growing community. The same regional cultural source records that a new church was built and dedicated in 2016. The sequence—from its establishment, through the creation of daughter parishes, to the construction of a new church—shows how the development of Catholic community life in Dangjin unfolded alongside changes in the city itself.