곡성 성당

History & origins

The establishment of a parish in Gokseong was directly connected with a desire to preserve the site associated with the Jeonghae Persecution of 1827. According to the Archdiocese of Gwangju, Archbishop Harold Henry decided in 1957 to establish a parish on the site where the guesthouse of the former Gokseong government office had been used as a temporary prison for Catholics. The parish community and church were established there the following year.

Two official archdiocesan pages describe the dates in 1958 somewhat differently. The current parish directory lists October 6 as the establishment date, while the martyr-site history distinguishes between the establishment of the parish on August 15 and completion of the church on October 6. The most accurate way to describe the beginning of Gokseong Parish is therefore as a 1958 process in which a parish was established on the historic persecution site and the church building was then completed.

Since then Gokseong Catholic Church has continued parish life on the same ground. It combines two identities: an active local parish where Mass and the sacraments are celebrated, and a place that preserves the memory of the Jeonghae Persecution.