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About this place
Jeongja-dong Cathedral is a cathedral of the Diocese of Suwon and, together with Jowon-dong Cathedral, serves the diocese’s cathedral liturgy. It is also the church of Jeongja-dong Parish and is dedicated to the Korean Martyr Saints. Because it contains the bishop’s cathedra, it is a symbolic venue for episcopal ordinations and installations, as well as other major diocesan liturgies and events presided over by the diocesan bishop.
Located within the diocesan center in Jeongja-dong beside the diocesan offices, the cathedral carries two functions at once: the ordinary liturgical life of a parish and the public liturgical life of the entire diocese. For local Catholics it is their parish church for Mass and the sacraments; for the diocese it visibly expresses communion between the bishop and the diocesan faithful. It is therefore an important place for understanding the liturgical center of the Diocese of Suwon beyond the boundaries of a single local parish. The defining sign of a cathedral is the cathedra, the chair of the diocesan bishop, which symbolizes the bishop’s ministry of teaching and presiding over the liturgy more than the physical size of the building. The Diocese of Suwon’s dedication-anniversary account likewise explains Jeongja-dong Cathedral in terms of its role as a source of diocesan liturgical life, emphasizing that its parish community also bears a responsibility of witness and service toward the wider diocese.
History & origins
The formation of Jeongja-dong Cathedral was closely tied to the growth of the Diocese of Suwon and the relocation of its central diocesan facilities. During the 1990s the diocesan offices were moved to Jeongja-dong, and a new cathedral was established within the same diocesan center. Jeongja-dong Parish itself was established on February 14, 1997, beginning its life as a local parish community.
In July 1997 the diocese asked the Holy See to recognize Jeongja-dong Church as a cathedral together with the existing cathedral at Jowon-dong. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples approved the request by decree 97-3414; the official diocesan chronology records July 29 as the date of approval. On August 20, the dedication of Jeongja-dong Cathedral was celebrated, formally establishing the church in its cathedral role.
In September of the same year, the installation of Bishop Paul Choi Deok-ki as the third Bishop of Suwon took place there, and major diocesan liturgies and events, including synodal celebrations and priestly ordinations, continued to be held in the cathedral. A diocesan account marking the eleventh anniversary of its dedication in 2008 likewise described it as a central church for important diocesan ceremonies and events.
The history of Jeongja-dong Cathedral is therefore more than the establishment of a new parish. It forms part of the reorganization of the diocesan center around the relocated chancery and the development of a system in which Jeongja-dong and Jowon-dong share cathedral functions. Jeongja-dong thus became both a local parish church and a place symbolizing the liturgy and episcopal ministry of the Diocese of Suwon as a whole. After its dedication, Jeongja-dong Cathedral became the setting not only for episcopal installations and priestly ordinations but also for major diocesan assemblies and events of faith. The 2008 dedication-anniversary account summarizes that important diocesan ceremonies had continued there throughout the previous decade and notes that the church and its surrounding spaces had been arranged to express its cathedral symbolism more clearly. These developments show that the 1997 dedication was not simply the completion of a building but the beginning of the cathedral’s practical consolidation as a center of diocesan liturgy.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 1
- 6 above-ground floors · 2 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1997
- Total floor area: 13,583㎡
Building-register record · · Source
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
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- Source
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
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- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Suwon Diocese (Diocese of Suwon)
Official website: http://www.casuwon.or.kr
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