Apostolic of Korea.) Construction of Jeondong Cathedral began in 1908 based on Poisnel’s design, and Baudenet asked him to come down to check if the foundation work was being done properly. Bishop Mutel’s journal, in its entry for the 21st of the same month, says, “Father Poisnel came back from his trip to Jeonju this afternoon. Father Baudenet has now laid the final foundation stones of the cathedral.” Describing the roles of the two priests, other entries in the journal indicate that Poisnel supervised the construction of Jeondong Cathedral, frequently visiting the site at Baudenet’s request. The foreman at the construction site was a Chinese man named Jiang Francisco, and many of the other workers were also Chinese, who had considerable experience in building red brick structures in China. But the bricks were fired in Korea; a record says that kilns were built in a nearby area, which produced some 650,000 bricks by 1913. Since its completion in 1914, Jeondong Cathedral, which combines the elements of Romanesque and Byzantine styles, has
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been known as the masterpiece of Father Poisnel. Bishop Florian Demange (An Se-hwa, 1875-1938), Vicar Apostolic of Daegu, praised the church as “the most beautiful cathedral in Asia.” It stands on a site approximately 13,200 square meters in area, with floor space amounting to 679 square meters. In February 1913, Poisnel began to build the priests’ quarters of Jeondong Cathedral, but he would not live to see its completion. After his death, Father Marcel Lacrouts took over the work and completed it in 1926. The cathedral itself was also expanded in 1925. Jeondong Cathedral was designated Historic Site No. 288 on September 25, 1981, and its priests’ quarters was listed as North Jeolla Province’s Cultural Property Material No. 178 on April 6, 2002. Father Poisnel died in Seoul as bishop coadjutor on November 26, 1925, and was buried in the Cemetery for Catholic Clergy in Yongsan, alongside Father Coste. 1 The narrow arched clerestory windows bring in natural light to the central nave. 2 The interior of the cathedral is in Romanesque style.
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