Bongnae Church

Overview

Bongnae Church is a church in Bongnae-dong, Yeongdo-gu, Busan, belonging to the Diocese of Busan. On March 20, 1969, it was established after separation from Cheonghak Parish, Sinseon Parish and Jungang Cathedral Parish, and its patron is recorded as Queen of Angels in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and as Saint Mary of the Angels in the directory.

History

〔Background of the foundation〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Bongnae-dong belonged to Cheonghak Parish, founded in 1932, and was then transferred to Sinseon Parish in 1955. As public offices, schools and shipyards began to appear and the number of faithful grew, the diocese decided to establish a parish and purchased a site of 260 pyeong at 3-ga, lot 90, Bongnae-dong.

〔Establishment of the parish and the first church〕 The encyclopedia states that on March 20, 1969, Bongnae Parish was established with the transfer of parish registers for 426 households and 1,171 members from Cheonghak Parish, Sinseon Parish and Jungang Parish, and that Father Giupponi of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Order) took office as the first pastor. When the site purchased by the diocese proved too small and insufficient additional land was available nearby so that building a new church became impossible, Father Giupponi sold that site and newly purchased 341 pyeong for the present church site. He then renovated a prefabricated factory building of a pharmaceutical company into a temporary church and celebrated the first Mass on July 20, 1969, and in the following year began construction of a new church on April 7 and completed a church of 600 pyeong on April 15, 1971.

〔1970~80s〕 According to the encyclopedia, Father Lee Jong-han, who had been his assistant, succeeded Father Giupponi and was appointed the 2 pastor on January 1977, built a new convent on September 1978 and expanded the kindergarten. Father Garate, the 4 pastor, founded the Legion of Mary ‘Mediatrix of All Graces’ Curia on July 31, 1983, revitalized the small Christian community movement through a reorganization of districts in the following year on August, established a scholarship association for priestly formation on June 30, 1985, and began construction of an education hall of 34 pyeong on May 10, 1987, completing it in the same year on November. Because of financial difficulties, the Franciscan Kindergarten was closed in 1989, and its building came to be used as the large hall.

〔1990s〕 The encyclopedia states that Father Kwon Yong-hui, the 6 pastor, published the parish bulletin “Crown” on July 1994 to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the parish foundation, and prepared commemorative events such as an athletic meeting, a poetry-and-painting exhibition and a hymn contest on October 30. Father Lee Sang-cheol, who took office as the 7 pastor on March 1997, is said to have focused on inner consolidation while strengthening devotional and evangelization activities.

〔Parish statistics and jurisdiction〕 The encyclopedia records the jurisdiction as Bongnae-dong 1~5-ga, all of Daepyeong-dong and Daegyo-dong, and parts of Namhang-dong, Yeongseon-dong and Sinseon-dong, and records the parish statistics as 799 members in 1970, 1,550 members in 1976, 2,069 members in 1982, 2,651 members in 1987, 2,821 members in 1991, and 2,984 members in 1996. The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the parish as currently belonging to the Jungang District, its establishment date as March 20, 1969, its affiliated religious congregation as the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs, the number of faithful as 3,195, and the number of Catholic mission chapels as 0.

〔Successive pastors〕 The successive priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first Giupponi (C. Giupponi, Jubuui) Constancio (1969.3~1977.1), the 2 Lee Jong-han John (1977.1~1979.2), the 3 Uriagereka (J. Uriagereka, U Yeong-hwan) Joseph (1979.2~1982.4), the 4 Garate (A. Garate, Kang In-jo) Alexander (1982.4~1988.3), the 5 Park Byeong-yun Evensio (1988.3~1991.2), the 6 Kwon Yong-hui Domenico (1991.2~1997.3), and the 7 Lee Sang-cheol Paul (1997.3~present at the time of writing).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the site first purchased at 3-ga, lot 90, Bongnae-dong, measuring 260 pyeong, was too small, so it was sold and 341 pyeong for the present site was newly purchased. A prefabricated factory building of a pharmaceutical company was renovated into a temporary church and the first Mass was celebrated on July 20, 1969, construction of a new building began on April 7, 1970, and a church of 600 pyeong was completed on April 15, 1971. Construction of a convent and expansion of the kindergarten on September 1978 were followed by construction of an education hall in 1987.

Related Places and People

• Cheonghak Parish, Sinseon Parish and Jungang Cathedral Parish: the parishes that transferred parish registers when Bongnae Parish was established on March 20, 1969. Bongnae-dong belonged to Cheonghak Parish, founded in 1932, and was transferred to Sinseon Parish in 1955 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Giupponi (C. Giupponi): a member of the Order of Friars Minor who served as the first pastor of Bongnae Parish, secured the present church site and built the church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Bongnae Parish” (vol. 6). Background of the foundation, establishment of the parish in 1969, completion of the church in 1971, parish statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2641
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Bongnae” (Diocese of Busan). Date of establishment, patron saint, district, religious congregation, number of faithful, number of mission chapels. Directory entry: establishment date 1969.3.20, patron Saint Mary of the Angels, Jungang District.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001407&gubun=4