Archdiocese of Gwangju
Gvangiuen(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Gwangju, South Korea
Latin-rite metropolitan archdiocese covering Gwangju metropolitan city and South Jeolla Province, one of the three metropolitan sees of the Catholic Church in Korea, elevated to archdiocese in 1962. Its seat is the Imdong Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Gwangju, with the Bukdong Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus also in the city. As of 2024 it counted 366,882 faithful.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 10 March 1962
- Latin
- Gvangiuen(sis)
- Patron
- Anselm of Canterbury
- Annuario code
- 001001561
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 366,882
- Population
- 3,360,194
- Catholic share
- 10.9%
- Priests
- 341
- Catholics per priest
- 1,076
- Extent
- 12,596 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 29
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Simon Ok Hyun-jin
- Born
- 5 March 1968
- Birthplace
- Muan
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Imdong Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Gwangju stands in Gwangju, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is Bukdong Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Gwangju.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Gwangju
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of Jeju 제주Jeju 제주
- Diocese of JeonjuJeonju
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
One of Korea's three metropolitan sees, the Catholic Archdiocese of Gwangju (Latin: Archidioecesis Kvangiuensis, Hangul: 천주교 광주대교구) is a particular church of the Latin Church. Its territory takes in the city of Gwangju together with the whole of South Jeolla Province.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].