Wikipedia

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis, Korean: 서울대교구) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan area of Seoul, South Korea, whose province comprises parts of South Korea (which has two more provinces) and all North Korea, yet depends on the missionary Dicastery for Evangelization.

Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul

Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis

서울대교구
Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Mother church)
Coat of arms
Location
Country South Korea
TerritorySeoul and Hwanghae
Ecclesiastical provinceSeoul
Statistics
Area17,349 km2 (6,698 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2021)
9,765,869[1]
1,534,887 (15.7%)
Parishes232
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established9 September 1831
(as Apostolic Vicariate)
10 March 1962
(as Archdiocese)
CathedralCathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Seoul
Patron saintBlessed Virgin Mary
Secular priests954
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopPeter Chung Soon-taick
Auxiliary Bishops
Bishops emeritusAndrew Yeom Soo-jung
Map
Website
aos.catholic.or.kr

Its Metropolitan bishop as the Archbishop of Seoul resides at his Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Archbishop of Seoul is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pyongyang in North Korea.

There are 57 Catholic secretly active parishes in North Korea, but due to the current regime in place, no Catholic priests are permitted permanent residency at the present time.

Pope Francis announced that the Archdiocese will be the host of the 2027 international celebration of World Youth Day.[2]

Statistics

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As of 2020, it pastorally served 1,534,887 Catholics (15.7% of 9,765,869 total) on 17,349 km2 in 232 parishes with 954 priests.[1]

History

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Pope Leo XIII was the first to approve the separation of the community from the control of diocese of Beijing and assigned priests from the Paris Foreign Missions Society but never went due to the Anti-Christian sentiment and persecutions during that time.

Pope Gregory XVI issued a papal bull, Ex debito pastoralis, on 9 September 1831, establishing the Apostolic Vicariate of the Korean Kingdom, 조선/Corea (Curiate Italian)/朝鮮 (正體中文), on territory split off from the then Diocese of Peking,[3] in what used to be part of Imperial China. It was renamed on 8 April 1911 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Seoul 서울/漢城 (正體中文), when it also ceded territory to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Taiku (Daegu).

It lost more territories, beginning on 8 May 1920, to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan. On 17 March 1927, it again ceded territory to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Hpyeng-yang, and on 25 April 1939, it lost territory again to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Shunsen.

The Apostolic Vicariate was again officially renamed on 12 July 1950 after its See as Apostolic Vicariate of Seul. It lost territories again on 23 June 1958 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Cheongju and the Apostolic Vicariate of Daijeon, and on 6 June 1961, it lost again to make the Apostolic Vicariate of Incheon, all three now have Suffragan bishops.

The diocese was raised to the level of Metropolitan Archdiocese on 10 March 1962.[4]

It lost again on 7 October 1963 to establish the Diocese of Suwon and it ceded territory again on 24 June 2004 to establish the Diocese of Uijeongbu, now both its suffragans.

The archdiocese has hosted official Papal visits by Pope John Paul II in May 1984 and October 1989 and by Pope Francis in August 2014.

Ecclesiastical province

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The Metropolitan's ecclesiastical province comprises his own Archdiocese and the following suffragan bishoprics, mostly in South Korea :

Leadership

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Ordinaries

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Apostolic Vicars of Korea

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Apostolic Vicars of Seoul

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Archbishops of Seoul

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Coadjutor Bishops

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  • Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol, MEP (1838–1843)
  • Saint Siméon-François Berneux, MEP (1844–1854)
  • Saint Antoine-Marie-Nicolas Daveluy, MEP (1855–1866)
  • Marie-Jean-Gustave Blanc, MEP (1877–1884)
  • Émile-Alexandre-Joseph Devred, MEP (1920–1926), never succeeded to see
  • Adrien-Joseph Larribeau, MEP (1926–1933)

Auxiliary Bishops

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "천주교 서울대교구>교구현황". aos.catholic.or.kr (in Korean). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  2. ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (6 Aug 2023). "Next World Youth Day to be in South Korea in 2027". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 6 Aug 2023.
  3. ^ Pope Gregory XVI, Breve Ex debito pastoralis, in Italian, published on 9 September 1831, accessed on 24 August 2024
  4. ^ "Archdiocese of Seoul". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  5. ^ Yang Jeong-woo (2021-10-28). "서울대교구장 내려놓는 염수정 "과분한 은총의 시간이었다"" (in Korean). Yonhapnews. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  6. ^ Kim Jong-mok (2021-10-28). "프란치스코 교황 서울대교구장에 정순택 주교 임명" (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  7. ^ Cho Hyun (2013-12-30). "서울대교구 보좌주교에 유경촌·정순택 신부 임명" (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  8. ^ Song Gwang-ho (2024-02-24). "교황, 천주교 서울대교구 신임 보좌 주교에 이경상 신부 임명" (in Korean). Yonhapnews. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
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37°33′48″N 126°59′13″E / 37.5633°N 126.9870°E / 37.5633; 126.9870

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