The Catholic Church in South Korea celebrated its first-ever Mass on the country's eastern-most islets of Dokdo Monday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

The Mass organized by the Dodong Catholic Church based on the eastern island of Ulleung also aimed to belatedly dedicate a statue of the Virgin Mary erected on the island five years ago. Located some 87.4 kilometers from Ulleung, the Dokdo islets are part of the church's jurisdiction.

It built the statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the country's eastern-most islets of Dokdo in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of the church's founding. It has since given a Mass to pray for peace on the Korean Peninsula on every Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

But none of the Masses had been held on Dokdo before, largely because of unfavorable weather conditions and concerns that such an event may worsen diplomatic ties with Japan, according to the church.

The rocky outcroppings, which lie closer to South Korea in the body of water that divides the Korean Peninsula and Japan, have long been a thorn in relations between the two neighbors. South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.

Monday's Mass was originally scheduled for June 29 but has been delayed several times due to bad weather.

"Dokdo should be the center of silent peace, not the center of a dispute. We will continue to pray until Dokdo, the islets of peace, become the center of world peace," Son Seong-ho, a provost of the church, said during the Mass at a small wharf on the eastern islet.

The Mass was also attended by some 65 Catholic priests and faithful as well as journalists who came to be part of the historical moment.

"After looking for a book of the church's 50-year-long history, we found that no Mass has been held on Dokdo," Son told reporters after the Mass. "I first conceived the idea of giving a Mass on Dokdo when I arrived here to assume my post three years ago."

Son said the church plans to hold a Mass on a regular basis every May, a month that has relatively good weather conditions compared to other months.

Bae Sang-yong, a 49-year-old resident of Ulleung who attended the Mass, said that the fact that the Korean church's first official Mass was held on Dokdo and timed for the 70th liberation anniversary has great meaning.

"As a South Korean citizen, I think it is a shortcut to preserving peace on Dokdo to visit there at least once in a lifetime." (Yonhap)