Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul

Archdiocese of Seoul Archidioecesis Seulensis 서울 대교구
Myeong-dong Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Location
Country	South Korea
Statistics
Area	17,349 km2 (6,698 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2014) 10,143,645 1,472,815 (14.5%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Seoul
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong
Suffragans	Diocese of Chuncheon Diocese of Daejeon Diocese of Hamhung Diocese of Incheon Diocese of Pyongyang Diocese of Suwon Diocese of Uijeongbu Diocese of Wonju
Auxiliary Bishops	Basil Cho Kyu-man Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon Peter Chung Soon-taek Benedictus Son Hee-Song
Emeritus Bishops	Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus (2006-2012)
Map
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: Archidioecesis Seulum, Korean: 서울 대교구) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan aera of Seoul, South Korea, whose province comprises parts of South Korea (which has two more provinces) and all North Korea, yet depends on the misisonary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Its Metropolitan bishop, the Archbishop of Seoul, has his cathedral episcopal see at Myeongdong Cathedral in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Its other special churches, all in Seoul, are the National Shrine Joeldusan National Shrine of Korean Martyrs, the Shrine of Saenamteo and Shrine: Yakhyeon Church Yakhyeon Church.

The Archbishop of Seoul is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pyongyang in North Korea.

As the episcopal see is the oldest one in Korea and that of its capital city, he is often considered to be the primate of (all) Korea, though the title has not been granted by the Holy See.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,472,815 Catholics (14.5% of 10,143,645 total) on 17,349 km² in 229 parishes and 183 missions with 908 priests (683 diocesan, 225 religious), 2,282 religious (445 brothers, 1,837 sisters) and 266 seminarians .

History

• The see was erected on 9 September 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, who created it as a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, 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 (imperial China).
• It was renamed on 8 April 1911 as Apostolic Vicariate of Seoul서울 / 漢城 (正體中文), when it also lost territory to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Taiku (now the Archdiocese of Daegu).
• It lost more territories repeatedly : on 1920.08.05 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan, on 1927.03.17 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Hpyeng-yang and on 1939.04.25 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Shunsen.
• It was renamed on 12 July 1950 after its see as Apostolic Vicariate of Seul.
• It lost territories again: on 1958.06.23 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Cheongju and the Apostolic Vicariate of Daijeon, and again on 1961.06.06 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Incheon, all three now its suffragans.
• It was promoted to Metropolitan Archdiocese on 10 March 1962.^[1]
• It lost territories again on 1963.10.07 to establish the Suwon and again on 2004.06.24 to establish the Uijeongbu, now both its suffragans.

It enjoyed 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 :

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Chuncheon 춘천
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Daejeon 대전
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamhung 함흥 (in North Korea)
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Incheon 인천
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang 평양 (in North Korea)
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Suwon 수원
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Uijeongbu 의정부
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Wonju 원주

Episcopal Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicariate

(all European members of a Latin missionary congregation, born in France)

Apostolic Vicars of Korea

• Barthélemy Bruguière (소 바르톨로메오), Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.) (1831.09.09 – death 1835.10.20), Titular Bishop of Capsa (1828.02.05 – 1835.10.20), previously Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Siam (Thailand) (1828.02.05 – 1831.09.09)
• SAINT Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert (범 라우렌시오), M.E.P. (1836.04.26 – death 1839.09.21), Titular Bishop of -again- Capsa (1836.04.26 – 1839.09.21)
• Jean J(oseph-Jean-Baptiste) Ferréol (고 요한), M.E.P. (1843.08.14 – death 1853.02.03), Titular Bishop of Belline (1838.08.14 – 1853.02.03), succeeding as previous Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea 조선 (1838.08.14 – 1843.08.14)
• SAINT Siméon-François Berneux (장 시메온), M.E.P. (1854.08.05 – death 1866.03.08), Titular Bishop of above Capsa (1844.03.28 – 1866.03.08), succeeding as previous Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Korea 조선 (1844.03.28 – 1854.08.05)
• SAINT Antoine(-Marie-Nicolas) DAVELUY (안 안토니오), M.E.P. (1866.03.08 – death 1866.03.30), Titular Bishop of Akka (1855.11.13 – 1866.03.30), succeeding as previous Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea 조선 (1855.11.13 – 1866.03.08)
• Félix(-Clair) Ridel (이 펠릭스), M.E.P. (1869.04.27 – death 1884.06.20), Titular Bishop of Philippopolis (1869.04.27 – 1884.06.20)
• (Marie-)Jean(-Gustave) Blanc (백 요한), M.E.P. (1884.06.20 – death 1890.02.21), Titular Bishop of Antigonea (1877.04.17 – 1890.02.21), succeeding as previous Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea 조선 (1877.04.17 – 1884.06.20)
• Gustave-Charles-Marie ‘August’ Mutel (민 아우구스티노), M.E.P. (1890.09.02 – 1911.04.08 see below), Titular Bishop of Milos (Greece) (1890.09.02 – 1923.01.31)

Apostolic Vicars of Seoul / Seul

• August Mutel, M.E.P. (see above 1911.04.08 – death 1933.01.22), 'transferred' Titular Bishop of Mopsuestia (1923.01.31 – 1926.01.11), promoted Titular Archbishop of Ratiaria (1926.01.11 – 1933.01.22)
  • Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar : Émile-Alexandre-Joseph Devred, M.E.P. (1920.12.16 – death 1926.01.18), Titular Bishop of Esbus (1920.12.16 – 1926.01.18)
• Adrien(-Jean) Larribeau (원형근 아드리아노) (1933.01.23 – 1942.01.05), M.E.P., Titular Bishop of Dusa (1926.12.23 – 1962.03.10), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Seoul 서울 (1926.12.23 – 1933.01.23); later 'last' [[Apostolic Vicar of Daijeon (South Korea) (1958.07.04 – 1962.03.10), (see) promoted 'first' Bishop of Daejeon 대전 (1962.03.10 – 1963.11.06), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Thinis (1963.11.06 – death 1974.08.12)
• Paul Ro Ki-nam (노기남 바오로) (1942.11.10 – 1962.03.10 see below), Titular Bishop of Colbasa (1942.11.10 – 1962.03.10)

Archbishopric

KOREAN Characters to add, names to check

Metropolitan Archbishops of Seoul

BIOS to ELABORATE

• Paul Roh Ki-nam (1962.03.10 – 1967.03.23)
  • [[Apostolic Administrator Victor Yoon Gong-hee (1967.03.23 – 1968) , |while * ]])
• Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1968.04.09 – 1998.04.03)
• Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk (3 April 1998 – 2012.05.10)
• Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong (10 May 2012 – )

Auxiliary Bishops

BIOS to ELABORATE

• • Auxiliary bishop Paul Kim Ok-kyun (23 March 1985 – 21 December 1985)
  • Auxiliary bishop Peter Kang Woo-il (21 December 1985 – 1 December 2001), Vicar general (1 December 2001 – 28 July 2002)
  • Auxiliary bishop Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong (1 December 2001 – 2 October 2002), Vicar general (2 October 2002 – 10 May 2012)
  • Auxiliary bishop Basil Cho Kyu-man (3 January 2006 – ...)
  • Auxiliary bishop Peter Chung Soon-taek (5 February 2014 – ...)
  • Auxiliary bishop Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon (5 February 2014 – ...)
  • Auxiliary bishop Benedictus Son Hee-Song (손희송(孫凞松) 베네딕토) (2015.07.14 - …), Titular Bishop of Campli
  • Auxiliary bishop Bishop-elect Job Koo Yobi (구요비(具要備) 욥) (2017.06.28 – ...), Titular Bishop of Sfasferia (2017.06.28 – ...)

See also

• List of Catholic Dioceses in Korea

References

Sources and external links

• (in Korean) Official homepage
• GCatholic.org, with Google map – data for all sections

Coordinates: 37°33′48″N 126°59′13″E / 37.5633°N 126.9870°E / 37.5633; 126.9870