Bokdae-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Bokdae-dong Church is a church belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju in Bokdae-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. It was separated and established from Sachang-dong Parish on May 22, 1988, and its patron is the Holy Family. Following the diocesan bishop's proposal to build it as a church praying for reunification, construction of a new church began in 1995.

History

[Establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the present parish site was land the diocese had purchased to create a park cemetery, but the plan fell through as the area began to be developed into a residential area from the early 1980s. When Sachang-dong Parish proposed a parish division, the diocese decided to rezone the 6,921-pyeong site in Bokdae-dong for the new parish. Led by Father Peter Kim Gwang-hyeok, then pastor of Sachang-dong Parish, construction of a prefabricated temporary church began and was completed in April 1988, and Bokdae-dong Parish was established effective on May 22 of the same year.

[Education Center and Separation of Gangseo Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as the temporary church was small, the first pastor, Father Sylvester Park Gi-hyeon, began construction of an education center on December 30, 1989, and completed it in June of the following year. On May 1, 1993, Gangseo Parish was separated, transferring a total of 850 parish registers, and on the same day Father Thomas Aquinas Kim Ung-ryeol took office as the 2 pastor.

[Construction of the New Church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Thomas Aquinas Kim Ung-ryeol planned a new church from immediately after taking office, and received a proposal from Diocesan Bishop Nicholas Jeong Jin-seok to build the new church as a church praying for reunification to console the souls who died during the Korean War and the Gwangju Democratization Movement and aborted children. Construction of the new church began on January 25, 1995, but was halted just before completion of the underground church due to the bankruptcy of the construction company and lack of construction funds. This encyclopedia entry is written as of 1995, and states a plan to demolish the temporary church and the education center after completion to create a plaza.

[Parish Statistics and Successive Pastors] The parish statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 1,215 members in 1988, 1,589 members in 1992, and 2,887 members in 1995. The successive priests are the first, Sylvester Park Gi-hyeon (1988.5–1993.5), and the 2, Thomas Aquinas Kim Ung-ryeol (1993.5–). The jurisdiction is listed as all of Bokdae 1 and 2-dong in Cheongju and parts of Gagyeong-dong, Gaesin-dong, and Sachang-dong.

Related Places and People

• Sachang-dong Church: the mother parish from which Bokdae-dong Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gangseo Church: the parish separated from Bokdae-dong Parish on May 1, 1993 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Bokdae-dong Parish” (Volume 5). Details on the background of the parish establishment in 1988, the education center, the separation of Gangseo Parish, the construction of the new church praying for reunification, parish statistics, and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2597
2. Diocese of Cheongju, parish information “Bokdae-dong Church”. Establishment date May 22, 1988, patron saint Holy Family.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23005