Holy Family Catholic Church

History & origins

Holy Family Parish was established on December 26, 2007, and began its pastoral life in earnest the following January under the name “Seo-po Mission Parish.” Official diocesan material describes it as the second missionary parish of the Diocese of Masan. Gonyang and Bonggye mission stations, which had previously belonged to Sacheon Parish, were brought together within the new missionary parish, creating a structure for serving Seo-po, Gonyang, and Bonggye as one pastoral unit.

Fr. John the Apostle Lee Woo-jin arrived as the first pastor on January 11, 2008, and the rectory was completed that June. The parish’s internal life also developed in stages: a Sunday school began on July 19, and a Curia was established on August 15. These steps show that the new missionary parish was building not only physical facilities but also faith formation for children and organized lay devotional life.

From the beginning, Seo-po Mission Parish was not limited to a single locality, but developed by linking three church sites and their communities. The Diocese of Masan and the Catholic Directory of Korea still record Seo-po, Gonyang, and Bonggye together under one parish.

On February 1, 2024, the parish name was changed from “Seo-po Mission Parish” to “Holy Family Parish.” Building on the missionary character of its foundation, the community that had long served several rural areas together thus came to express its unified parish identity more clearly under a new name.