A priest who works with stained glass has given his studio to his archdiocese to run in the hope that it would help develop the artform in the Korean Church.

Father Paul Won Dong-su from Daegu archdiocese has worked with stained glass for some 20 years and even set up his own Father Paul’s Stained Glass Laboratory and Gallery.

The 56-year-old priest handed over his two-story private studio to the archdiocese on July 25 during a brief ceremony.

“I built it with everything I had but decided to give it to the archdiocese to mark its centennial. It will be more useful if the Church runs it,” Father Won told ucanews.com.

The archdiocese will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011.

The priest said he hopes the studio will help in developing the artform in the local Church and that many people will take an interest in it.

Father Won had studied painting and stained glass design in US colleges in the early 1990s. He set up his 990-square meter studio upon returning to South Korea at a cost of US$168,000.

The priest has created stained glass windows for many parishes in Seoul and Daegu archdioceses, and Andong, Jeonju, Masan and Suwon dioceses.

He believes he is the only priest in the Korean Church who works with the artform.

Some of his stained glass works and paintings are on display at a July 11-31 exhibition in the studio, as well as works by other artists.

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