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About this place
Sapgyo Catholic Church is a parish church of the Diocese of Daejeon in Sapgyo-eup, Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the center where Catholics of Sapgyo and the surrounding area celebrate Mass and the sacraments and continue catechesis and community life, and it is listed as a current parish in the official church directory of the Diocese of Daejeon. Its dedication to the Sacred Heart provides a spiritual point of reference for expressing Christ’s love in the faith and life of the parish community.
Sapgyo belongs to the Naepo region, where a long Catholic tradition took root, and the parish can be understood within that regional context. The church today is not merely a place preserving historical memory but an active parish where local Catholics live their ordinary faith around the liturgy and sacraments. For visitors, its importance lies in the way the long Catholic memory of Naepo continues within a present-day parish community, and in its role as a local church centered on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
History & origins
The Catholic faith was present in Sapgyo and the surrounding area from the early period of the Church in Korea. Martyrs came from this region from around the Jeongsa Persecution of 1797, and in 1817 the Catholic community of Baenadri near the Sapgyocheon River was severely dispersed by persecution. In the early Japanese colonial period, communities began to form again as Catholics from the Hapdeok area moved in search of places to live. By the 1930s, believers were settled in Juryong-ri, Jurae, Sapgyo town, Yongmeori, and other nearby places.
Mission-station organization gradually became more established. Juryong-ri Mission Station was formed in 1941, Sapgyo Mission Station around the time of Liberation, and Jurae Mission Station in 1956. Mission halls were built in Jurae in 1957 and in Sapgyo in 1960. As the number of believers grew, the leaders of several mission stations pursued the establishment of a parish and construction of a new church. With the help of Fr. Beaudvin of Yesan Parish, they acquired the site of the present church.
Ground was broken for the new church on March 19, 1965, and construction was completed on April 5, 1966. The dedication and first Mass were celebrated on April 24 of the same month. On this foundation Sapgyo Parish was established on April 27, 1967, after separation from Yesan Parish, with Fr. Beaudvin becoming its first pastor. A rectory and convent were subsequently completed, and in 1968 sisters of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus began participating in the parish apostolate.
Later, changes in Catholic population and pastoral boundaries brought several divisions and adjustments. Deoksan Parish was separated in 1979, and Juryong-ri Mission Station was raised to Eungbong Parish in 1986. In the 1990s a historical site and martyr monument were prepared in memory of Martin In Eon-min, a martyr from the region. The history of Sapgyo Parish thus shows a continuous Naepo Catholic story running from faith during the early persecutions, through the rebuilding of mission-station communities, to parish establishment in the 1960s and subsequent growth and division.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Sapgyo Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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Diocese
Daejeon Diocese (Diocese of Daejeon)
Official website: http://www.djcatholic.or.kr
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