금산 성당

History & origins

Catholic communities are documented in the Geumsan and Jinsan area from the nineteenth century. The Catholic Encyclopedia of Korea records the formation of the Jinbatdeul mission station in 1856 and the later growth of the Gasebal mission station, which became an important center for Catholics in the Geumsan area under Doejae Parish in Wanju, Jeollabuk-do. A mission-station hall was prepared in 1926, providing a base from which the community could develop into a parish.

The Gasebal mission station was raised to parish status in 1929. The current official Korean Catholic directory and the older parish-history account in the Catholic Encyclopedia record different exact dates within that year, so only the year 1929, on which the sources agree, is used here. The parish was reduced again to mission-station status in 1931, then moved its center to Jungdo-ri in Geumsan-eup and was re-established as a parish in 1935. This relocation laid the foundation for the parish centered on Geumsan-eup today.

The community subsequently developed its church and related facilities, and in 1957 a new church, rectory, convent, and other buildings were completed. Despite the hardships surrounding the Korean War period, the parish organization endured and continued to serve as a focal point for local Catholic life.

A major change also occurred in diocesan jurisdiction. The Geumsan area had long belonged to the Diocese of Jeonju, but on August 29, 1980 it was transferred to the Diocese of Daejeon. Geumsan Catholic Church thus reached its present form through a sequence of mission-station life, parish establishment, temporary reversion, relocation, re-establishment, and finally incorporation into the Diocese of Daejeon.