Oncheon Church

History & origins

Preparations for Oncheon Parish took concrete shape in 1957, when Father Yun Ye-won, newly assigned as chaplain to the Carmelite convent, recognized the need for a separate church for Catholics living in the Oncheon-dong area then under Dongnae Parish. A Buddhist temple in Oncheon-dong was purchased with proceeds from some Catholic relief goods, and on May 29, 1958, Oncheon was separated from Dongnae and established as a new parish. The purchased temple was initially renovated and used as a temporary church.

As the community grew, construction of a new church began in 1964, and a three-story church was completed in 1966. With continuing growth in the local population and Catholic community, new parishes such as Seodong, Geumjeong, and Bugok were later separated from Oncheon, while educational and welfare facilities were also expanded. The long-used church underwent repairs and alterations over the years, but eventually a complete rebuilding became necessary.

In 2016, the parish formed a church reconstruction committee to prepare for a new building. Construction began in June 2021, and the parish moved into the new building in February 2023. On June 3 of that year, the new church was dedicated in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Joseph Son Sam-seok. The four-story building brings together the main church, catechetical rooms, multipurpose rooms, the rectory, convent space, and other functions of parish life.

Oncheon Parish thus developed from a temporary chapel into an established parish, helped give rise to new Catholic communities in surrounding districts, and eventually rebuilt its church for a new generation. The present building provides a renewed foundation for the local life of faith that has continued since the parish’s earliest years.