공주교동 성당

History & origins

Gongju Gyodong Parish was established on September 7, 1982 after being separated from what was then Gongju Parish. A Gongju City source identifies Father Bernard Cho Jang-yoon as the first pastor and states that, when the parish first became independent, the former Geunhwa Kindergarten building on the present church site was renovated and used as a liturgical space.

The new community began parish life in this temporary setting while pursuing the construction of a permanent church. A modern church was completed in 1989, enabling Gongju Gyodong Parish to leave its provisional facilities and establish fixed spaces for parish liturgy and formation on the present site.

Gongju City's cultural-tourism material also notes that a hyangok, a detention facility associated with the period of Catholic persecution, once stood near the church. It includes Gongju Gyodong Church on the “Martyrs' Road Along Jemincheon,” a route extending from Hwangsaebawi Shrine to Gongju Jungdong Church. Apart from the parish's own foundation history, this places Gyodong Church within the historic urban landscape through which Gongju remembers the faith of its martyrs.