Daegu and the Gyeongbuk region were among the areas where the study of Western learning was active when Catholicism was first introduced to Joseon. In the early 19th century, the faith in the Daegu region began with Hong Yu-han, the first to study Seohak (Western Learning) and become a believer in the Yeongnam area. Between 1830 and 1835,Catholic roots in Daegu grew deeper when Yi Jae-geon and his family—who had been practicing their faith in the Chilgok Catholic village—settled in Nakgol, Habin-myeon, Dalseong-gun of Gyeongsangbuk-do. Their interest in Western learning and the formation of a Catholic community laid the foundation for the Catholic faith that continues in Daegu today.

Despite persecutions carried out by the Joseon government, Catholics in the Daegu region preserved their faith and maintained their communities. One of the key sites was the Shinnamugol Catholic Village, home to 36–40 believers. It was the first place in the Gyeongsang-do region where a presbytery was established, allowing foreign missionaries to reside there and spread the faith to surrounding areas.

After the persecutions ended, Daegu became, along with Seoul, one of the new centers of the Korean Catholic Church, supported by its large Catholic community and its strategic location as a major railway hub.

In 1911, Pope Pius X separated the southern region from the single national diocese known as the Apostolic Vicariate of Joseon and established the Apostolic Vicariate of Daegu. With the continued growth of the Catholic population, the Jeolla and Gyeongnam regions were later separated from Daegu to form the jurisdictions of Gwangju, Jeonju, and Busan. In 1962, with the formal establishment of diocesan structures in Korea, Daegu was elevated to the status of an archdiocese.

Today, the Archdiocese of Daegu has two cathedral churches: Gyesan Cathedral and Beomeo Cathedral. Among them, Gyesan Cathedral, consecrated in 1903, is the first Western-style Catholic church in the Gyeongsang (southeastern) region.

The Archdiocese of Daegu currently has 514,520Catholics, 164 parishes, two bishops, and 536 priests.