Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul explained
| Jurisdiction: | Metropolitan Archdiocese |
| Seoul |
| Latin: | Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis |
| Local: | 서울대교구 |
| Coat: | Archdiocese of Seoul.png |
| Territory: | Seoul and Hwanghae |
| Province: | Seoul |
| Area Km2: | 17,349 |
| Population: | 9,765,869[1] |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Catholics: | 1,534,887 |
| Catholics Percent: | 15.7 |
| Parishes: | 232 |
| Denomination: | Catholic |
| Sui Iuris Church: | Latin Church |
| Rite: | Roman Rite |
| Established: | 9 September 1831
(as Apostolic Vicariate)
10 March 1962
(as Archdiocese) |
| Cathedral: | Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Seoul |
| Patron: | Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Priests: | 954 |
| Bishop Title: | Archbishop |
| Metro Archbishop: | Peter Chung Soon-taick |
| Emeritus Bishops: | Andrew Yeom Soo-jung |
| Map: | Archdiocese of Seoul.svg |
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. 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
, 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]
List of territorial losses
Pope Leo XIII was the first to approve to separate 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 granted a Papal bull declaring it as an official See on 9 September 1831, referring to it as the Apostolic Vicariate of Korea 조선/Corea (Curiate Italian)/朝鮮 (正體中文), on territory split off from the then Diocese of Peking, of what used to be part of Imperial China.
- It was renamed on 8 April 1911 as Apostolic Vicariate of Seoul 서울/漢城 (正體中文), when it also lost 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 lost again to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Hpyeng-yang On 25 April 1939, it lost again to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Shunsen.
- It 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,
- 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.[3]
The diocese has received two official Papal visits from Pope John Paul II in May 1984 and October 1989 and from Pope Francis in August 2014.
Ecclesiastical province
The Metropolitan's ecclesiastical province comprises his own Archdiocese and the following suffragan bishoprics, mostly in South Korea :
Leadership
Ordinaries
Apostolic Vicars of Korea
Apostolic Vicars of Seoul
Archbishops of Seoul
Coadjutor Bishops
- 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
- Joseph Kyeong Kap-ryong (1977–1984), appointed Bishop of Daejeon
- Paul Kim Ok-kyun (1985–2001)
- Peter Kang U-il (1985–2002), appointed Bishop of Cheju
- Andreas Choi Chang-mou (1994–1999), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Gwangju
- Joseph Lee Han-taek (2001–2004), appointed Bishop of Uijeongbu
- Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (2001–2012), appointed Archbishop of Seoul
- Lucas Kim Woon-hoe (2002–2010), appointed Bishop of Chunchon
- Basil Cho Kyu-man (2006–2016), appointed Bishop of Wonju
- Peter Chung Soon-taick, OCD (2014–2021), appointed Archbishop of Seoul
- Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon (2014–present)[6]
- Benedictus Son Hee-song (2015–2024), appointed Bishop of Uijeongbu
- Job Koo Yobi (2017–present)
- Paul Lee Kyung-sang (2024-present)[7]
See also
Sources and external links
Notes and References
- Web site: 천주교 서울대교구>교구현황. korean. aos.catholic.or.kr. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul. 2022-09-15.
- Web site: Brockhaus . Hannah . 6 Aug 2023 . Next World Youth Day to be in South Korea in 2027 . 6 Aug 2023 . Catholic News Agency.
- Web site: Archdiocese of Seoul. Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- News: Yang Jeong-woo . 2021-10-28 . 서울대교구장 내려놓는 염수정 "과분한 은총의 시간이었다". korean . Yonhapnews . 2021-11-02.
- News: Kim Jong-mok . 2021-10-28 . 프란치스코 교황 서울대교구장에 정순택 주교 임명. korean . . 2021-11-02.
- News: Cho Hyun . 2013-12-30 . 서울대교구 보좌주교에 유경촌·정순택 신부 임명. korean . . 2022-09-15.
- News: Song Gwang-ho . 2024-02-24 . 교황, 천주교 서울대교구 신임 보좌 주교에 이경상 신부 임명 . korean . Yonhapnews . 2024-02-25.
