Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul

Archdiocese of Seoul Archidioecesis Seulum 서울 대교구
Myeong-dong Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Location
Country	South Korea
Statistics
Area
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
Emeritus Bishops	Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus (2006-2012)
Map
File:Archdiocese of Seoul.svg
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: Archidioecesis Seulum, Korean: 서울 대교구) is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church comprising Seoul, South Korea, whose province comprises parts of South Korea (which has two more provinces) and all North Korea.

It 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 Korea, though the title has not been granted by the Holy See.

History

The see was erected on September 9, 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, who created it as a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, the Apostolic Vicariate of Corea, on territory split off from the then Diocese of Peking.

It was renamed the Apostolic Vicariate of Seoul on April 8, 1911, when it also lost territory to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Taiku (now the Archdiocese of Daegu).

It lost more territory 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 the Apostolic Vicariate of Seul on 12 July 1950. 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 March 10, 1962.

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.

Ordinaries

(all Roman Rite)

Apostolic Vicars of Korea

• Barthélemy Bruguière (1831.09.09 – death 1835.10.20), Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.), Titular Bishop of Capsa (1828.02.05 – 1835.10.20), previously Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Siam (Thailand) (1828.02.05 – 1831.09.09)
• Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert, Saint Laurent Imbert, M.E.P. (1836.04.26 – death 1839.09.21), Titular Bishop of Capsa
• Jean J. Ferréol (1843.08.14 – death 1853.02.03), M.E.P., Titular Bishop of Belline (1838.08.14 – 1853.02.03), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea (1838.08.14 – 1843.08.14)
• St. Simeon Berneux (1854.08.05 – death 1866.03.08), Titular Bishop of Capsa (1844.03.28 – 1866.03.08), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea (1844.03.28 – 1854.08.05)
• St. Antoine Daveluy, M.E.P. (1866.03.08 – death 1866.03.30), Titular Bishop of Akka (Acre) (1855.11.13 – 1866.03.30), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea (1855.11.13 – 1866.03.08)
• Felix Ridel, M.E.P. (1869.04.27 – death 1884.06.20), Titular Bishop of Philippopolis (in Thracia) (1869.04.27 – 1884.06.20)
• Jean M. Blanc, M.E.P. (1884.06.20 – death 1890.02.21), Titular Bishop of Antigonea (1877.04.17 – 1890.02.21), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Korea (1877.04.17 – 1884.06.20)
• August Mutel, 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

• August Mutel (see above 1911.04.08 – death 1933.01.22), Titular Bishop of Mopsuestia (1923.01.31 – 1926.01.11), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Ratiaria (1926.01.11 – 1933.01.22)
• Adrien Larribeau (1933.01.23 – 1942.01.05), Titular Bishop of Dusa (1926.12.23 – 1962.03.10), succeeding as former Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of Seoul (1926.12.23 – 1933.01.23); later Apostolic Vicar of Daijeon (South Korea) (1958.07.04 – 1962.03.10), promoted Bishop of Daejeon (1962.03.10 – 1963.11.06), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Thinis (1963.11.06 – 1974.08.12)

Apostolic Vicar of Seoul

• Paul Marie Ro Ki-nam (노기남 바오로) (1942.11.10 – 1962.03.10 see below), Titular Bishop of Colbasa (1942.11.10 – 1962.03.10), also Apostolic Administrator of then Apostolic Vicariate of Taiku (South Korea) (1948.05.27 – 1948)

Metropolitan Archbishops of Seoul

• Paul Marie Roh Ki-nam (1962.03.10 – 1967.03.23), also President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (1964 – 1967), later Titular Archbishop of Tituli in Proconsulari (1967.03.23 – death 1971.03.10)
• Apostolic Administrator Victor Yoon Gong-hee (1967.03.23 – 1968)
• Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1968.04.09 – 1998.04.03), previously Bishop of Masan 마산 (South Korea) (1966.02.15 – 1968.04.09); also created Cardinal-Priest of S. Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle (1969.04.30 – 2009.02.16), President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (1970 – 1975), President of Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (1973 – 1977), Apostolic Administrator sede plena of suffragan Pyong-yang 평양 (North Korea) (1975.06.10 – 1998.04.03), President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (1981 – 1987), Protopriest of College of Cardinals (2004.03.13 – 2009.02.16)
• Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk (1998.04.03 – 2012.05.10 surviving), previously Bishop of Cheongju 청주 (South Korea) (1970.06.25 – 1998.04.03); also President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (1996 – 1999), Apostolic Administrator sede plena of suffragan Pyong-yang (1998.06.06 – 2012.05.10), created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea (2006.03.24 [2006.11.19] – ...), Member of Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Apostolic See (2007.02.03 – 2012.05.10)
• Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong (2012.05.10 – ...), previously Titular Bishop of Thibiuca (2001.12.01 – 2012.05.10) & Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul (2001.12.01 – 2012.05.10); also Apostolic Administrator of suffragan Pyong-yang (2012.05.10 – ...), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Crisogono (2014.02.22 [2014.10.04] – ...)

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

Vicars General

• Peter Kang Woo-il (1 December 2001 - 28 July 2002)
• Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong (2 October 2002 - 10 May 2012)

Auxiliary Bishops

• Paul Kim Ok-kyun (23 March 1985 - 21 December 1985)
• Peter Kang Woo-il (21 December 1985 - 1 December 2001)
• Andrew Yeom Sou-jeong (1 December 2001 - 2 October 2002)
• Basil Cho Kyu-man (3 January 2006 - ...)
• Peter Chung Soon-taek (5 February 2014 - ...)
• Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon (5 February 2014 - ...)

See also

• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Korea

Source and External links

• (Korean) Official homepage
• GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links