영광 성당

About this place

Yeonggwang Catholic Church is a parish church of the Archdiocese of Gwangju in Yeonggwang-eup, Yeonggwang County, within the Gwangju Gwangsan 2 district, with St. Robert Bellarmine as its patron. Archdiocesan materials state that a parish was first established in Yeonggwang in 1937, later closed for a period, and re-established in 1965.

Catholic history in Yeonggwang reaches much further back than the parish itself. Yi Hwa-baek and an unidentified woman from Boksan-ri are remembered as having been martyred in Yeonggwang during the 1801 Sinyu Persecution. In recognition of this history, the Archdiocese of Gwangju designated Yeonggwang Catholic Church as its first “Martyrs Memorial Church” on September 16, 2010. A memorial gate and statues were added in 2014, followed by a martyrs memorial exhibition hall on the church grounds in 2017.

Yeonggwang Catholic Church therefore has a dual identity: it is an active local parish and also a memorial place preserving the memory of early Catholic faith and martyrdom in Yeonggwang. Ordinary parish worship and ministry, together with remembrance of the martyrs, form the central meaning of the site.

Official source