Samcheondong Catholic Church

History & origins

Samcheondong Parish was established on January 29, 1994, by separating territory from Pyeonghwadong, Hyojadong, and Hyoja Ujeon parishes. Anticipating development and population growth in the area, the Diocese of Jeonju had acquired about 700 pyeong of land before the parish was formally created. At its founding, the diocese provided a 100-pyeong prefabricated church and a 32-pyeong rectory. The new parish began with 231 households and 723 Catholics, but both the general population and the Catholic community grew rapidly as apartment complexes were built within its territory.

The parish quickly developed its organizational and pastoral foundations. A pastoral council was formed on April 17, 1994, and a community of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established on October 25, 1995. In early 1996 a church-building committee was organized to begin long-term preparations and fundraising for a permanent church. This shows that establishing the parish was not merely an administrative division but a process of building the organizational, educational, and liturgical foundations of a new community.

Although Samcheondong Parish began in a prefabricated church, within a short period it had experienced major growth in the number of Catholics and had formed a pastoral council, a religious-sister community, and an organization for future church construction. These linked developments show how residential expansion in southwestern Jeonju and the growth of the parish proceeded together. The parish’s early history can therefore be understood as the gradual establishment of the structures needed for a newly formed Catholic community to take root as an independent parish.