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About this place
Gwangan Catholic Church is a parish in the Namcheon District of the Diocese of Busan and a memorial church dedicated to the Korean Martyr Saints. The diocese states that the church enshrines relics of four martyr saints and that the parish is responsible for the care and preservation of the Suyeong Jangdae Martyrs' Shrine. Gwangan's present identity therefore combines ordinary parish ministry with a clear responsibility for remembering and transmitting the faith of Busan's martyrs.
Here Catholics celebrate Mass and the sacraments while also reflecting on the witness of the martyrs and the meaning of pilgrimage to the nearby Suyeong Jangdae shrine. The relics in the church and the parish's care for the shrine connect daily parish life directly with local Church history. For visitors, Gwangan is both an urban parish and a place where the Diocese of Busan's memory of the martyrs is carried into ordinary Christian life.
History & origins
The roots of Gwangan Parish lie in the Catholic community of the Suyeong area. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that the parish was separated from Busanjin Parish and established on December 20, 1956. Its original patron was the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the community took shape during a period when new parishes were being established as the Church in Busan moved toward becoming a separate apostolic vicariate.
The spiritual character of the parish changed significantly through the commemoration of the martyrs. In 1968, the centenary of the martyrdom of Catholics in the Dongnae area, the Diocese of Busan designated Gwangan, located near the Suyeong Jangdae site, as a memorial church for the Blessed Martyrs, and the parish patron was changed accordingly. After the canonization of the Korean Martyrs in 1984, the patronage was established as the Korean Martyr Saints.
This commemoration was not limited to the church's title. In 1987 the diocese acquired the present site of the Suyeong Jangdae shrine and began its development as sacred ground, while Gwangan continued to serve as a community closely linked to this memory of martyrdom. For the parish's sixtieth anniversary in 2016, lectures on persecution and Church history, a photo exhibition, and a Mass of thanksgiving provided an occasion to reflect together on both the parish's history and its martyr spirituality.
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Diocese
Busan Diocese (Diocese of Busan)
Official website: https://www.catholicbusan.or.kr
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