Giheung Church

History & origins

Giheung Parish was established on September 2, 2008. According to the Diocese of Suwon, it was formed with Bora-dong Parish as its mother parish and Saint Paul the Apostle as its patron. Although the new parish acquired an independent pastoral structure, it was not immediately able to build its own church and continued Masses and parish ministry for many years in temporary facilities.

Beginning in 2023, the parish community made a concerted effort to build a permanent church. Spiritual preparation—including Bible reading, the Rosary, and evangelization initiatives—was accompanied by fundraising, and the groundbreaking ceremony took place at the present site on October 3, 2024. The planned complex, on a 2,826-square-meter site with approximately 2,298 square meters of floor area, was designed with one basement level and five above-ground floors, including the church, catechetical rooms, offices, and priest’s residence.

After construction, the Mass marking entry into the new church was celebrated on April 25, 2026, presided over by Bishop John Baptist Moon Hee-jong with concelebrating priests. The diocese recorded that the Giheung community had finally secured its own church eighteen years after its establishment. A community that had long lived its parish life in temporary spaces thus gained a stable center for liturgy and formation.

The move into the new building was not treated as the end of the story. The diocese urged the parish to deepen participation in the sacraments and devotional life, strengthen faith formation, and foster fellowship, service, and care for neighbors. This history shows that the development of Giheung Parish continues beyond the completion of a building toward the formation of a sustainable Catholic community in the local area.