Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamhung

Diocese of Hamhung Dioecesis Hameungensis 함흥 교구
Location
Country	North Korea
Ecclesiastical province	Seoul
Metropolitan	Seoul
Statistics
Area	49,375 km2 (19,064 sq mi)
Population - Catholics	unknown
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	5 August 1920
Cathedral	Destroyed in Korean War
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Sede vacante
Metropolitan Archbishop	Andrew Yeom Soo-jung
Apostolic Administrator	Luke Kim Woon-hoe
Map

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

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. Father Josef Bonifatius 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

• Bonifatius (Josef) Sauer, O.S.B. † (Vicar Apostolic: 25 Aug 1920 to 12 Jan 1950)
• Vacant (1940-1962)
• Timotheus (Franz Xaver) Bitterli, O.S.B. † (Apostolic Administrator: 10 Mar 1962 to 22 May 1981)
• Vacant (1982-present)

References

• [1]
• [2]

See also

• Religion in North Korea
• Territorial Abbey of Tokwon