Samrangjin Catholic Church

Overview

Samnangjin Church is a church in Samnangjin-eup, Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, belonging to the Busan Diocese. In 1930 Father Kwon Yeong-jo moved the Myeongnye Parish to Samnangjin, beginning parish history; it later became a Catholic mission chapel under Miryang Parish and was raised again to a parish, and its patron is Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

History

[Spread of the Gospel and Mission Chapels] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Gospel is said to have been brought to the Miryang area when Kim Beom-u (Thomas), the first victim of the Korean Catholic Church, was exiled to Danjang in Miryang (Beopgwi-ri, Danjang-myeon) in 1785 and preached the faith around his place of exile, but it is not known for certain how many believers were gained at that time or whether that faith continued to later generations. As persecution continued, many believers fled to mountainous areas and formed Catholic villages in Hogye-ri (Beomsil) in Yangsan-eup and in Bubuk-myeon, Muan-myeon, Sangnam-myeon, Dong-myeon and other areas of Miryang-gun, and in the 1850s Father Choe Yang-eop (Thomas) and later Bishop Daveluy and Father Ridel visited these villages. In 1866, during the Byeongin Persecution, martyrs came from this area for the first time. Around this time Kim Sa-beom settled with his family in Ugok-ri in present-day Samnangjin-eup, ran an earthenware shop, and began to preach the Gospel in nearby Haeupsil. In 1888 Father Robert established the Myeongnye Catholic mission chapel (Myeongnye-ri, Hanam-eup, now in the Masan Diocese), and in 1892 Father Jojo of Busan founded the Eupsil Catholic mission chapel (Ugok-ri, Samnangjin-eup). These mission chapels belonged to a temporary parish that Father Kang Seong-sam (Laurence) established in Myeongnye around January 1898, and after Father Kang Seong-sam died on September 19, 1903, they became mission chapels under the Masan (now Wanwol-dong) Parish.

[Establishment of Samnangjin Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Myeongnye Parish was formally established on May 30, 1926, when Father Kwon Yeong-jo arrived, 23 years after it had been reduced to a mission chapel. Because Myeongnye was inconvenient for transportation, Father Kwon planned to move the parish to Samnangjin, a transportation hub with many believers, prepared a temporary church at the Eupsil mission chapel in 1928, and in the following year purchased about 1,500 pyeong of land in Ugok-ri on May 22 and began construction of a new church, rectory and youth hall. Then, with the move to Ugok-ri effective on January 1, 1930, Samnangjin Parish was established, with about 900 believers at establishment. The Miryang Parish entry in the same encyclopedia gives the Ugok-ri site as about 1,000 pyeong. The Miryang Church entry in the Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia says the parish moved from Myeongnye-ri, Hanam-eup to Ugok-ri, Samnangjin-eup in 1928 and from Ugok-ri to Songji-ri, Samnangjin-eup in 1930.

[Songji-ri Church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, when Father Kwon left in December 1930 for Handeul Parish in Yeonjang-ri, Jeonbuk, construction in Ugok-ri stopped. The 3 pastor, Father Parthenay (Theophilus), who arrived in May 1931, purchased a new site in Songji-ri, the present parish location, in spring 1935 and began new church construction, which was completed after the 4 pastor, Father Peynet (Carolus), arrived, with the church dedication and the blessing of the rectory and youth hall on November 3 of that year. At that time Samnangjin Parish had about 1,200 believers including believers in 28 mission chapels. The Samnangjin Church entry in the Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia says Samnangjin Church opened with Miryang Church as mother parish, building a temporary church-cum-rectory at the foot of Maebongsan in Songji-ri in 1930, with about 300 believers.

[Move to Miryang-eup and the Mission-Chapel Period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Peynet went to Masan (now Wanwol-dong) Parish for rest in 1938, and his successor Father Yu Heung-mo stayed in Samnangjin for about 2 years, then in 1939, following diocesan instructions, purchased 700 pyeong of land at 721 Nae-i-dong, Miryang-eup, and in the following year built a church-cum-rectory there on June 29 and moved the parish. Thus Samnangjin Parish was reduced to a mission chapel under Miryang Parish, and the church land and buildings were sold by the diocese. From then on believers had to hold mission-chapel rites in private homes without a mission hall. The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia also says Samnangjin Church was closed in 1939 when the parish moved to Miryang-eup and its land and buildings were sold.

[Toward Restoration of the Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, after the Korean War in 1950, Samnangjin mission believers promoted a campaign for parish promotion, but affiliation only changed from Miryang Parish to Jinyeong Parish. In 1951 they organized a Church Building Committee and in the following year purchased two thatched houses next to the Samnangjin town office and began using them as a mission hall. In 1953 Samnangjin mission returned to Miryang Parish, and in 1956 they purchased land (500 pyeong) and buildings (150 pyeong) in the town center. With the arrival of Father Yu Seon-i in February 1957, it was restored as Samnangjin Parish, but when Father Yu died on December 5 of the following year, it became a Miryang Parish mission again, and in July 1962, with Father Jeong Su-gil arriving as 7 pastor, it revived as a parish. The opening of the same Korean Catholic Encyclopedia entry and the Miryang Parish entry give the parish promotion as March 1957, while the Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia gives opening in 1930, closure in 1939, reopening in 1957, reduction to a mission under Miryang Church in December 1958, and parish promotion in July 1962.

[Luga-won and the 1960s-1970s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Jeong Su-gil opened Luga-won, a settlement for cured Hansen’s disease patients, in Doyo-ri, Saengnim-myeon, Gimhae-gun on September 26, 1962, and established a credit union in the parish on December 18 of that year. The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia also says that on September 26, 1962, the Hansen’s disease settlement Luca-won was opened at 641 Doyo-ri and that it remains today as a mission chapel under Samnangjin Church. Under the 8 pastor, Father Han Yeong-il, a branch of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Pohang opened in April 1967, and in August 1968 a church of about 200 pyeong was newly completed and dedicated in March of the following year. The 13 pastor, Father Guillermo (S.J. Guillermo) Joseph, opened Holy Child Kindergarten on March 1, 1973, but it closed in 1981 due to financial difficulties. From 1970 to 3 pastors changed frequently, until stability returned when Father Son Deok-man arrived as 14 pastor in 1973.

[The 1980s-1990s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on October 14, 1983, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Pohang, who had helped parish ministry for nearly 20 years, withdrew and a branch of the Sisters of the Holy Heart of Mary in Mirinae opened. The 19 pastor, Father Jang Byeong-ryong, built a Marian grotto on August 13, 1985, remodeled the sanctuary wall in May of the following year, and repaired the church and convent in September. The 21 pastor, Father Park Yu-sik, broke ground for a rectory and education hall on May 6, 1988, completed them on October 4 with a blessing ceremony, and in January 1989 prepared an adoration chapel on the 3 floor of the church. On October 28, 1990, the 60th anniversary of parish establishment was celebrated. The encyclopedia notes that because Samnangjin Parish is in a rural area, the growth rate of believers is very low and most are elderly, making parish operation difficult.

[Parish Statistics and Successive Pastors] Parish statistics given in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 900 at establishment, 716 in 1963, 614 in 1971, 652 in 1977, 788 in 1982, 876 in 1987, 1,116 in 1991, and 1,181 in 1996. Its jurisdiction is recorded as all of Ugok-ri, Yuldong-ri, Haenggok-ri, Antae-ri, Geomse-ri, Songji-ri, Mijeon-ri and Samnang-ri in Samnangjin-eup, and Yangji Village in Doyo-ri, Saengnim-myeon, Gimhae-gun (Luga-won). Successive priests were the first Marco Kwon Yeong-jo (1930.1-12), 2 Marco Min Jeong-ho (1930.12-1931.5), 3 Theophilus M. Parthenay (1931.5-1935.6), 4 Carolus C. Peynet (1935.6-1938.6), 5 Andrea Yu Heung-mo (1938.6-1940.6), the Samnangjin mission period (1940.6-1957.3), 6 Joseph Yu Seon-i (1957.3-1958.12), the mission period (1958.12-1962.7), 7 Joseph Jeong Su-gil (1962.7-1965.12), 8 Nicolaus Han Yeong-il (1965.12-1970.7), interim John Jang Byeong-ryong (1970.7-1971.2), 9 Raimundus Lee Sang-ho (1971.5-7), 10 Franciscus Jeong Haeng-man (1971.7-10), 11 Petrus An Dal-won (1971.10-1972.1), 12 Leo Lee Don-u (1972.1-11), 13 Joseph S.J. Guillermo (1972.11-1973.11), 14 Thomas Son Deok-man (1973.11-1976.11), 15 John Yang Deok-bae (1976-1978.6), 16 Petrus Song Gi-in (1978.6-1983.2), 17 Jacobus Jang Byeong-bo (1983.2-7), 18 Jacobus Heo Seong (1983.7-1984.2), 19 Jang Byeong-ryong (1984.2-1986.2), 20 Ludovicus Jeong Yeong-han (1986.2-1988.2), 21 Andrea Park Yu-sik (1988.2-1990.2), 22 Dominicus Kim Gye-chun (1990.2-1992.2), 23 Daniel Lee Si-chan (1992.2-1996.8), 24 Franciscus Yeom Bong-deok (1996.8-1998.2), 25 John Kim Yong-hwan (1998.2-) in succession.

Related Places and People

• Miryang Church (Busan Diocese): It is the mother parish of Samnangjin Church. When the parish moved to Miryang-eup in 1940, Samnangjin became a mission chapel under Miryang Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia).
• Miryang Myeongnye Church (Masan Diocese): It is where Myeongnye Parish, the predecessor of Samnangjin Parish, was located (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Luga-won (Luca-won): Opened on September 26, 1962 in Doyo-ri, Saengnim-myeon, Gimhae-gun as a settlement for cured Hansen’s disease patients, and remains as a mission chapel under Samnangjin Church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia).
• Kim Beom-u Tomb (Yongjeon-ri, Samnangjin-eup, Miryang-si 205-1): The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia says the tomb of Kim Beom-u, called the first witness or first martyr of Korean Catholicism, is in Samnangjin-eup, making this area a Catholic holy site.
• Father Marco Kwon Yeong-jo: The first pastor who moved Myeongnye Parish to Samnangjin (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Samnangjin Parish”. Move from Myeongnye to Samnangjin, parish promotion and reduction to mission, church construction, Luga-won, parish statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3034
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia “Samnangjin Church”. Opening in 1930, closure in 1939, reopening in 1957 and parish promotion in 1962, Luca-won, Kim Beom-u tomb.
   https://www.grandculture.net/miryang/toc/GC08701122
3. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia “Miryang Church”. Parish transfer route from Myeongnye to Samnangjin to Miryang.
   https://www.grandculture.net/miryang/toc/GC08701121