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About this place
Yeongwol Catholic Church is a parish in the Yeongpyeongjeong District of the Diocese of Wonju, serving Yeongwol-eup, Buk-myeon, Nam-myeon, Gimsatgat-myeon, and Jungdong-myeon. The Catholic Church in Korea directory lists Christ the King as its patron and records one mission station under the parish. Across the broad mountainous area of Yeongwol County, it serves as the local Catholic pastoral center where the faithful gather for Mass, the sacraments, catechesis, and communal life.
Although Yeongwol Parish now belongs to the Diocese of Wonju, it began when territory under Daehwa Parish in the Diocese of Chuncheon was separated to form a new parish community. Pastoral boundaries were later adjusted through the creation of a new diocese and the division of neighboring parishes, producing the present parish structure in Yeongwol. The church can therefore be understood both as a local liturgical center and as a place that reflects the historical development of parishes and mission stations in the mountainous southern part of Gangwon Province.
History & origins
The Yeongwol area originally belonged to Daehwa Parish in the Diocese of Chuncheon. The Catholic Encyclopedia of Korea records that Father Francis Lee Yeong-seop, then assistant priest of Daehwa Parish, pursued a plan to establish a parish in Yeongwol and received diocesan approval for the new parish on July 24, 1952. On September 3 he purchased a wooden house in Deokpo-ri, Yeongwol, and on November 20 the house was converted for use as a temporary church. The Catholic Church in Korea directory gives September 3 as the parish establishment date, corresponding to the acquisition of this local base.
In 1953, with assistance from the U.S. Army’s 205th Engineer unit, the church site was prepared, and a concrete church was completed and dedicated on October 9. As the Catholic community grew, the territory was later divided. On October 20, 1958, Sangdong Mission Station was elevated to parish status and separated from Yeongwol Parish, with Sangdong-myeon and part of Hadong-myeon transferred to the new parish.
When the Diocese of Wonju was separated from the Diocese of Chuncheon and established on March 22, 1965, Yeongwol Parish became part of the new diocese. Its history thus passed through several stages: pastoral beginnings under Chuncheon, the establishment of a local church, the division of a neighboring parish, and incorporation into the Diocese of Wonju. Because the sources use different reference points for “establishment”—the approval in July and the acquisition of the local base in September—it is most accurate to understand the two dates as referring to distinct events.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Yeongwol Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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Diocese
Wontong Diocese (Diocese of Wonju)
Official website: http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr
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