광천 성당

History & origins

Gwangcheon Parish was established on July 12, 1968. The Catholic Church directory in Korea records this date as the parish's founding date, after which an independent liturgical and pastoral life developed for the Catholic community centered on Gwangcheon-eup.

One documented strand of the parish's later history is the strengthening of faith formation for different generations. According to the Diocese of Daejeon, beginning in April 2015 Gwangcheon Parish operated a “Parents' Bible College” for older parishioners, combining Mass, Scripture lectures, and small-group sharing to support faith formation in later life. It is a concrete example of a rural township parish providing communal care for the spiritual life of its older members.

On June 5, 2022, the parishes of Hongseong, Gwangcheon, and Hongbuk jointly held a Pentecost Mass and a Catholic march calling for climate action, with about 600 participants. Since beginning as an independent parish, Gwangcheon has thus continued its history by combining intergenerational faith formation with district-wide cooperation and by sharing concerns that affect both the local Church and wider society.