Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamhung

Last updated
Diocese of Hamhung

Dioecesis Hameungensis

함흥 교구
Location
CountryFlag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Ecclesiastical province Seoul
Metropolitan Seoul
Statistics
Area49,375 km2 (19,064 sq mi)
Population
  •  
  • unknown
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Rite Roman Rite
EstablishedAugust 5, 1920
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop Sede vacante
Metropolitan Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung
Apostolic Administrator Simon Kim Ju-young
Map
Diocese of Hamhung.svg

The Diocese of Hamhung is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in North Korea.

Contents

Originally erected as the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan in 1920, the name has been changed twice, once to Kankoensis o Hameungensis in 1940, and finally, as the Apostolic Vicariate of Hamhung in 1950. Like the Diocese of Pyongyang, the Vicariate was elevated to a full diocese in 1962. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Seoul.

Persecutions

In 1949, 166 priests and religious were martyred in the Communist revolution of Kim Il Sung. This left the diocese bereft of priests. Bishop Boniface Sauer, the abbot of Tokwon Abbey, had died in 1950, and no bishop had been re-appointed to the diocese. Finally, in 1962, Timotheus (Franz Xaver) Bitterli, was appointed in absentia as the bishop of the diocese, and was the apostolic administrator for 20 years until his resignation in 1981. Since then, the diocese has remained vacant, and it will likely remain so as long as the persecution of Christians in North Korea continues.

Ordinaries

Vicars Apostolic of Hamheung

Bishops of Hamhung

See also

References

    39°54′58″N127°32′02″E / 39.9160°N 127.5340°E / 39.9160; 127.5340

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