Hamchang Church

Overview

Hamchang Church is a church in Odong-ri, Hamchang-eup, Sangju-si, North Gyeongsang Province, belonging to the Diocese of Andong. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it began as the Hamchang Catholic mission chapel under Toegang Parish around 1937 and was established as a parish on May 20, 1942 (the Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia gives the elevation year as 1948), with Christ the King as patron. From 1956, Benedictine priests served as pastors and carried out relief and educational work.

History

〔Early History and the Hamchang Mission Chapel〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it is not certain when Catholicism was first introduced to the Hamchang area. However, the fact that Father A.-N. Calais, who was evangelizing in the northwestern part of Gyeongsang Province around the Byeongin Persecution in 1866, took refuge in the house of John Yi in Munsu Village, Hamchang-hyeon, shows that there were believers in this area at that time. Thereafter Hamchang appears in the statistics compiled by Father A.P. Robert (Kim Bo-rok), who was in charge of Gyeongsang Province from 1882, with 11 believers in downtown Hamchang between 1883 and 1884. The Hamchang area came under the jurisdiction of Gasil (present-day Naksan) Parish, founded around September 1894, and after Gimcheon (present-day Hwanggeum-dong) Parish was established on July 1901, it came under Gimcheon Parish. Among the newly established mission chapels centered on Hamchang-eup, Toegang Mission Chapel and Gongpyeong Mission Chapel were elevated to Toegang Parish and Gongpyeong (present-day Jeomchon-dong) Parish respectively on September 1922. With the construction of the Gyeongbu Railway in 1924, Hamchang became a transportation hub and, as there was an elementary school in the area, many nearby believers moved there. Accordingly, around 1937, Father Joseph Jeong Su-gil, pastor of Toegang Parish, prepared a thatched house at 729-3 Odong-ri, Hamchang-eup, established the Hamchang mission chapel, and dispatched a catechist president. As the chapel house became too small, a larger building owned by a Japanese person (at 15 Guhyang-ri) was purchased and the mission chapel was moved there. After Father Jeong Su-gil was transferred on June 1940, Father Francis Seo Hyeong-seok of Gongpyeong Parish resided at the Hamchang mission chapel and also administered the area under Toegang Parish until he died of pulmonary tuberculosis on June 17, 1941, after which the priest of Sangju (present-day Seomun-dong) Parish administered this area.

〔Establishment as a Parish〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Diocese of Daegu simultaneously downgraded Gongpyeong Parish to a mission chapel effective May 20, 1942 and elevated the Hamchang mission chapel, which was geographically and transportationally advantageous, to a parish. The first pastor, Father James Lee Gi-su, had no residence in Hamchang and initially resided in Gongpyeong. After liberation, with donations from believers and support from Father Lee Gi-su, land for the church was purchased in Odong-ri, and in spring 1948, a church building committee was organized and the building used as a mission chapel hall was remodeled into a church and a rectory. The Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia states that Father Joseph Jeong Su-gil of Toegang Parish founded it as the Hamchang mission chapel in 1937 and it was elevated to Hamchang Church on August 1948. In the order of parish establishment on the Diocese of Andong website, Hamchang is 5th, listed with establishment date May 21, 1942.

〔Construction of the Church〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2th pastor, Father Charles Kim Dong-han, after taking office moved the furnishings and sacred objects needed for ministry from Gongpyeong to Hamchang, and as church strength surged, organized a church construction committee on February 23, 1949 and began raising funds. The 3st pastor, Father Pascal Kang Chan-hyeong, opened Seongmo Kindergarten on September 15, 1949 and began new church construction with diocesan help on March 1950, but the church under construction was destroyed during the Korean War and all stored building materials were lost. Lacking money, believers built a new church of about 55 pyeong with only the outer walls laid in red brick, and used the remaining materials to build a round 2-story rectory. The 4th pastor, Father John Jeong Sam-gyu, to make it more complete, raised building funds from diocesan support, proceeds from the sale of relief goods, and believers’ donations, carried out construction, and celebrated the church’s dedication ceremony on November 24, 1954. The Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia also states that foundation work for a new sanctuary began in 1950 and the church was completed and consecrated on November 24, 1954, after the 6–25 War.

〔The Waegwan Vicariate and the Benedictines〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Waegwan Vicariate was established on July 6, 1952, the Benedictines were entrusted with the Sangju and Mungyeong areas, and accordingly Hamchang Parish came under the Waegwan Vicariate in 1956 and Benedictine Father Leonard Egner (Wang Muk-do) took office as the 6th pastor (the Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia gives Father Wang Muk-do’s baptismal name as Reginald). Father Egner hired salaried catechists and established the Yangjeong, Euncheok, Yeju, Yeomul, and Yangbeom mission chapels, and on May 29, 1959 established a Bible course for children from poor families. The following year, after preparing a school building with 2 classrooms and a home-economics room on March 5, it was authorized as Seongmo Higher Civic School on April 1961 and opened. The Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia states that Seongmo Higher Civic School was founded in 1956, and starting with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gonggeom mission chapel on February 1958, the Euncheok, Yeoju, and Yeomul mission chapels were established in 1959 and Seongsimwon, a village for leprosy patients, was opened, and in 1960 the Yangbeom mission chapel was established and classrooms and a kindergarten for Seongmo Higher Civic School were completed. It also states that in 1969 a branch of the Tutzing Missionary Benedictine Sisters was established inside the church, and Seongmo Higher Civic School was closed after its 11th graduation ceremony on December 22, 1971. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, new church construction began on April 15, 1965, the dedication ceremony was celebrated on November 14, the Andong Vicariate was elevated to a diocese on May 9, 1969 and incorporated into the new diocese, and in the same year management of Seongmo Higher Civic School was transferred to the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing on September. The Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia evaluates that, centered on Father Wang Muk-do, with financial support from the German Catholic Church and aid from the Korean branch of Catholic Relief Services, relief goods were delivered to the poor throughout Sangju and participation in educational work contributed to community development.

〔Since the 1970s〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, after the 7rd pastor, Father Peter Mésini (Mae Gi-seok), left office on April 1974, no pastor was appointed for 8–9 months, Father Charles Coyos (Gu In-deok) of the diocesan curia came every Sunday to celebrate Mass, and on December Father Ignatius Kim Jae-mun took office as the 8th pastor. Father Kim Jae-mun held meetings of mission chapel chairpersons and trained mission chapel finance officers, closed Seongmo Kindergarten on February 1977 for financial reasons, launched a vocations support association on May 1979, and held the unveiling ceremony for a new statue of the Virgin Mary. The 9th pastor, Father Leo Kim Uk-tae, jointly with Donam-dong Parish in Seoul in summer 1981, opened a mountain school at Jungso Elementary School in Gonggeom-myeon, and on October 24, 1982 organized two children’s Legion of Mary praesidia (Saetbyeol and Sanga-tap). The 10th pastor, Father Charles Lee Yeong-gil, began construction of an education hall (House of Sharing) on April 3, 1988, completed it on October 30, and celebrated its consecration on November 20 officiated by Bishop Du Bong. The 11th pastor, Father Ludovico Jeong Ho-gyeong, interested in environmental issues, created the Obongsan Community in Sinheung on March 18, 1990 and the Mulmi Community in Toegang on April 1, founded the Mallisan Community, the second community in Toegang, on January 29, 1992, and celebrated the blessing ceremony of the “Grandmothers’ Cooperative House” for elderly people living alone on November 15, 1992. The 13st pastor, Father Cosmas Gong Han-yeong, organized a choir on June 1, 1996 and formed a mothers’ association for the Sunday school elementary division on April 19, 1997, and the 14nd pastor, Father Francis Jeon Jang-ho, installed a nursery room inside the church on March 29, 1999 and launched a women’s federation on February 20, 2000.

〔Establishment of the Sabeol-Toegang Quasi-Parish and Current Status〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, during the tenure of the 15th pastor, Father Pius Lee Sang-bok, on July 1, 2003 the Toegang mission chapel under Hamchang Parish and the Sabeol, Maehyeop, Maeho, Muksang, Mokga, and Samdeok mission chapels of Gyerim-dong Parish were grouped to establish the Sabeol-Toegang quasi-parish, and on July 2004, 17–18, the summer retreat of the “Sharing Meditation Group” of the Archdiocese of Seoul and the Diocese of Andong was held at the parish. The Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia states that as of August 2023, there are 2,340 registered believers and the supervised mission chapels are Sinheung, Acheon, Yeomul, and Hagal.

〔Jurisdiction, Church Statistics, and Successive Priests〕 The jurisdiction recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire Hamchang-eup area of Sangju-si, and the mission chapels are 9 in number: Geumgok, Byeongam, Seongsim, Sinheung, Acheon, Yangjeong, Yeomul, Yeokgok, and Hagal. Church statistics are 3,180 in 1965, 3,700 in 1970, 3,690 in 1975, 3,312 in 1980, 3,396 in 1985, 3,234 in 1990, 3,087 in 1995, 3,189 in 2000, and 2,981 in 2003. Successive priests are the first Father James Lee Gi-su (1942.5–1948.8), 2th Father Charles Kim Dong-han (1948.8–1949.6), 3rd Father Pascal Kang Chan-hyeong (1949.6–1952.3), 4th Father John Jeong Sam-gyu (1952.3–1955.5), 5th Father Augustine Kim Jun-pil (1955.5–1956.4), 6nd Father Leonard Egner (Wang Muk-do) (1956.7–1973.4), 7th Father Peter Mésini (Mae Gi-seok) (1973.4–1974.4), 8th Father Ignatius Kim Jae-mun (1974.12–1981.2), 9st Father Leo Kim Uk-tae (1981.2–1986.1), 10th Father Charles Lee Yeong-gil (1986.1–1989.3), 11th Father Ludovico Jeong Ho-gyeong (1989.3–1993.5), 12th Father Vincent Cho Chang-rae (1993.5–1994.8), 13rd Father Cosmas Gong Han-yeong (1994.8–1999.1), 14th Father Francis Jeon Jang-ho (1999.1–2003.7), and 15th Father Pius Lee Sang-bok (2003.7–). The Gaeun Parish entry in the same encyclopedia lists the priest of Hamchang Parish in 1947 as Charles Kim Dong-hwan.

Architecture and Space

The church dedicated in 1954 was a building of about 55 pyeong in which believers, at the construction site destroyed by the Korean War, had laid only the outer walls in red brick, and a round 2-story rectory was built with the remaining materials (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). New church construction began on April 15, 1965 and the dedication ceremony was celebrated on November 14. In 1988, an education hall (House of Sharing) was newly built and consecrated on November 20 officiated by Bishop Du Bong.

Related Places and Figures

• Toegang Parish (present-day Sabeol-Toegang Parish): the parish whose pastor Father Joseph Jeong Su-gil was when he established the Hamchang mission chapel, and in 2003 the Toegang mission chapel and others were grouped to become the Sabeol-Toegang quasi-parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gongpyeong Parish (present-day Jeomchon-dong Parish): downgraded to a mission chapel in 1942 when Hamchang became a parish, and its priest once resided at the Hamchang mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gasil Parish and Gimcheon Parish: the parishes to which the Hamchang area successively belonged (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Seongmo Higher Civic School and Sangji Girls’ Middle School / Sangji Mirae Management High School: Seongmo Higher Civic School was closed in 1971, and Sangji Girls’ Middle School and Sangji Mirae Management High School, which originated from it, are located within the church district (Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Tutzing Missionary Benedictine Sisters: established a branch inside the church in 1969 and remain active today (Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Leonard Egner (Wang Muk-do): the Benedictine priest who served as 6th pastor from 1956 for nearly 17 years (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Seongsimwon: a village for leprosy patients opened in 1959 (Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Hamchang Parish” (Vol. 12). Establishment as a parish on May 20, 1942, patron, jurisdiction and mission chapels, church statistics, successive priests, early history and mission chapel establishment, church construction and dedication, Benedictine era, activities of successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6832
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Sangju Culture Encyclopedia, “Hamchang Church.” Establishment as a mission chapel in 1937, elevation in 1948, church completion and consecration in 1954, mission chapels and Seongmo Higher Civic School, status in 2023.
   https://www.grandculture.net/sangju/toc/GC09101172
3. Diocese of Andong, Jurisdiction and Parish Distribution Map. Order of parish establishment (Hamchang 5th, May 21, 1942).
   https://www.acatholic.or.kr/sub1/sub1_4.asp