Marian devotion
The parish of Okgye, in the city of Gumi, has the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary. Founded in 2002 from the parish of Indong, it raised its final church in 2006. His recent history unites contemplation of Christ, proclamation of the Gospel and welcome to the neighbours of North Korea.
Official address: "Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary."
Temple: 옥계성당 · Okgye Catholic Church.
Address: 13 Okgyesindan@@
Parish Foundation: 6 September 2002
Mother Parish: Invenated.
Dedication of the new church: 21 May 2006.
Jurisdiction: Archdiocese of Daegu, fifth vicar, second region.
Fieles: 981 in the consulted episcopal directory.
Dependent communities: None.
Coordinates checked by household: 36.144699044342, 128.42193052456.
A confirmed advocation
The Episcopal Conference of Korea and the Archdiocese of Daegu expressly register as patron of Okgye a God’s WordThe Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary. Good News Catholic corroborates the same identity, date and address.
There is no local Marian apparition or a miraculous image. The title comes from the prayer of the rosary and the officially documented parish patronage.
Contemplating Christ with Mary
St. John Paul II defined the rosary as contemplation of the face of Christ in the company of Mary. Their mysteries form a compendium of the Gospel and lead to a deeper relationship with the Lord.
The serene repetition of the avemaria offers a rhythm to listen and meditate. It is not a magic formula: it needs attention, faith, Scripture and a life that seeks to become.
A school of evangelical memory
Mary kept and meditated on the events of Jesus. The rosary learns from that memory: it returns to the mysteries so that they transform daily decisions.
Each ten can open up space for gratitude, examination of consciousness and intercession for specific needs, avoiding both haste and superstition.
The Feast of October 7
The liturgical memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary is celebrated 7 October. Benedict XVI recalled that his traditional iconography presents Mary holding the Child and offering the rosary to help contemplate, love and follow Jesus.
The feast does not celebrate an amulet, but an ecclesial prayer fed by the Gospel.
Founded from Indong
The official weekly of the archdiocese documents that Okgye was erected 6 September 2002 taking Indong as a mother parish. The creation responded to the need for a community of its own for this part of Gumi.
Recognizing the mother parish retains pastoral continuity: a new community does not begin from nothing, but receives faith, people and experience from other communities.
The church dedicated in 2006
The works of the new temple began in March 2005. After a little more than a year, Archbishop John Choi Young- soo presided over his dedication to 21 May 2006according to the contemporary chronicle of Catholic Times.
The church rose on a plot of about 1,035 pyeng and had about 416 pyeng built. It included temple, catechesis classrooms, kitchen, dining room, office, choir and priestly residence.
Spaces for an entire community
The units show a parish prepared to celebrate, teach, sing, meet and share a table. The architecture serves the mission when it promotes accessibility, security and reception.
The care of the building must be linked to the care of persons, especially minors, older persons, migrants and those living in a vulnerable situation.
A missionary community
During the Year Paulino of 2008- 2009, 122 people began their way of faith in Okgye. In 2010 the parish received a diocesan recognition for that shared effort.
The community combined prayer for people, presence in the neighborhood, information materials, accompaniment and catechesis at home for those with reduced mobility.
Accoger sin manipular
Evangelization is only authentic if it fully respects freedom. Inform, listen and accompany never authorize psychological pressure, use of a material need or insistence against a no.
The rosary proposes the Gospel with Mary's patience: faith is offered and testimony is not imposed.
Friendship with people from the North
In December 2015, Okgye invited about 50 North Korean refugees to a dinner and year-end meeting. The faithful already visited homes and carried food and other support to newly settled families.
The parish wanted to maintain this accompaniment and link families from the neighborhood to families from the North. The initiative sought to combat solitude and adaptation difficulties.
Report of separate families
The chronicle also reflects the desire to offer, during traditional holidays, a space to remember family members who remained in North Korea or had died.
Reception needs discretion and consent. It should not expose traumatic stories or turn the pain of a refugee into propaganda.
The rosary as prayer for peace
Benedict XVI invited him to pray for peace in families, nations and the world. John Paul II explained that this prayer, centered on Christ, educates the heart to receive and build peace.
In Okgye this intention takes on a specific face: neighbors born on both sides of a border can be found as people and share a table.
Reconciliation with truth
To pray for Korean unity does not mean to ignore repression, violence or human rights violations. Reconciliation needs truth, freedom, justice, protection of victims and historical patience.
Mary of the Rosary accompanies a prayer that rejects hatred for peoples and calls for decent conditions for each person.
The current community
The consulted episcopal directory records 981 faithful, phone 054-475-9191 and no dependent station. The archdiocese maintains the same direction and warns that liturgical times can change.
Pastoral figures are a photograph subject to updating; do not measure the spiritual quality or the reception capacity of a community alone.
verified location for the map
The current official address is 13 Office-ro 5-gil. The plot number cited in 2006 was 427-1; the current road nomenclature identifies the building as Okgye Catholic Church.
The contrast of name, road address and building offers the point 36.144699044342, 128.42193052456. The marker corresponds to the temple, not the generic center of the neighborhood.
To visit and pray
The diocesan page should be consulted or called to the parish, as the hours may vary. The Archdiocesan website also provides access bus lines.
One ten can be prayed for separated families, one for refugees and another for those who work for a just peace on the Korean peninsula.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Rosary of Okgye
Mary, Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, teaches Okgye to contemplate the face of your Son. Save the families, strengthen those who proclaim the Gospel with respect and accompany those who left their home in North Korea. It comforts separate families, protects victims and makes this community a house of listening and friendship. Praise us a peace based on truth, freedom and justice, and always bring us Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sources consulted
- Korean Episcopal Conference: Official Okgye Registration.
- Good News Catholic: corroboración parroquial.
- Archdiocese of Daegu: the present report of the parish.
- Archdiocesan Semanary: mother parish, foundation and patronage.
- Catholic Times: dedication of the new church in 2006.
- Catholic Times: evangelizing work of Okgye.
- Catholic Times: Welcome to North Korean Neighbors.
- San Juan Pablo II: Rosarium Feryis Mariae · Global Voices.
- Benedict XVI: Virgin of the Rosary and prayer for peace.
- Mapping tested by name and address.
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