Gyo-hyeon-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Gyohyeon-dong Church is a church in Gyohyeon-dong, Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, belonging to the Diocese of Cheongju. It began in 1928 as the Chungju Catholic mission chapel of the Janghowon (Gamgok) parish and became a parish in 1945, with Saint Joseph as its patron. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that the parishes of Eumseong, Jeungpyeong, Judeok, Jigok, Mokhaeng-dong, Munhwa-dong, Allim-dong and Yeonsu-dong were separated from this parish.

History

〔Mission Chapel Period〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Gyohyeon-dong Parish was established in 1928 as the Chungju Catholic mission chapel of the Janghowon (Gamgok) parish. On May 12, 1936, it secured a 3,300-pyeong mission chapel site in Yahyeon-ri and built a 18-pyeong mission chapel hall with 1,200 won donated by Thomas Pyo. At that time, in addition to the Yahyeon-ri mission chapel, there were mission chapels in Seongteojigi, an onggi pottery village, and in Yeonsu-dong in Chungju. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia also records that it began in 1928 as the Chungju mission chapel of Janghowon Catholic Church (now Gamgok Catholic Church).

〔Parish Establishment〕 The establishment date differs by source. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia give on November 15, 1945, while the parish information of the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju lists on November 21, 1945 as the establishment date. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia also gives on November 30, 1945 as the date of elevation to parish status. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia explains that Archbishop No Gi-nam of the Seoul Vicariate erected Gyohyeon Catholic Church, the fifth Catholic church established in North Chungcheong Province, and Father Yu Yeong-geun took office as the first pastor. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, at the time of elevation to parish status its jurisdiction covered Chungju-gun (excluding Yangseong-myeon), Eumseong-gun (excluding Geumwang-myeon and Gamgok-myeon) and Goesan-gun, and a rectory was built upon elevation.

〔Expansion and New Construction〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the church was expanded (27 pyeong) in August 1952, and as the number of faithful grew it was expanded again (52 pyeong) in March 1954. In March 1955 it founded the Sacred Heart School for Blind and Deaf Children for children with disabilities, in 1963 it built a convent and a school for the deaf with a dormitory, and in December of the following year it newly built a modern-style church and rectory. Later it newly built a convent in March 1982 and a Marian chapel in May 1989, and expanded a sacristy in June 1983 and an education center in December 1988. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia records that Father Michael Gang (Korean name Gang Deok-gu), who served from 1961 to 1966 as the 8th pastor, built the present parish church in 1964 in the architectural style of the Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society and built the Marian chapel in 1988.

〔Pastoral Responsibility and Parish Name〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society was in charge of pastoral care of the parish from 1953 until March 1970. In 1960, when the Jigok parish was separated, the parish name was changed to ‘Yahyeon’, and in 1981, following a change in the administrative district name, it was changed again to ‘Gyohyeon-dong’. The separated parishes include Eumseong (1955.6), Jeungpyeong (1955.8), Judeok (1957.5), Jigok (1960.2), Mokhaeng-dong (1971.9), Munhwa-dong (1986.5), Allim-dong (1989.7) and Yeonsu-dong (1992.8) parishes. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia records that it spun off a total of 11 parishes, including Eumseong Catholic Church.

〔Parish Statistics and Successive Pastors〕 The parish membership recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is 2,054 in 1973, 3,394 in 1983, and 3,050 in 1993. The successive pastors are the first, John Yu Yeong-geun (1945–1950), 2th, Luke Jeong Won-jin (1950.4–1950.12), 3th, Bartholomew Gu Jeon-hoe (1950.12–1951.3), 4nd, James Lee Tae-jun (1951.4–1952.9), 5th, Matthias Im Chung-sin (1952.9–1953.10), 6th, Joseph Joseph Borer (1953.10–1959.6), 7st, Filippo Philip Reilly (1959.6–1961.6), 8th, Michael Michael Duggan, Gang Deok-gwon (1961.7–1965.3), 9th, Alfred Alfred Keane, Kim In-seon (1965.3–1968.5), 10th, Michael Michael Zunno, Ju Eun-ro (1968.5–1970.3), 11rd, Leo Gyeong Deok-su (1970.3–1973.7), 12th, Benedict Kim Byeong-cheol (1973.7–1976.5), 13th, Laurence Lee Han-gu (1976.5–1983.5), 14nd, Augustine Kim Gwang-myeong (1983.5–1984.8), 15th, Pius Shin Sun-geun (1984.8–1989.7), 16th, Bernard Jang In-san (1989.7–1991.2), 17st, Peter Yun Byeong-hun (1991.2–).

〔Activities and Present Condition〕 According to the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia, Gyohyeon-dong Church was the first Catholic church in Korea to organize the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and this group cares for youth-headed households, elderly living alone and dementia patients. It has turned the rooftop of the Catholic hall into a park used as a resting place for local residents, and inside the church grounds is the Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center for the Deaf, an educational institution for the hearing impaired operated by the Diocese of Cheongju. The same source records, as of 2008, 2,772 faithful, a site of about 28,000 square meters and a total floor area of church and annex buildings of about 6,600 square meters, with main buildings including the church, rectory, convent, Marian chapel and Catholic hall, and with the附属 facility Haeseong Kindergarten as an annexed facility.

Related Places and People

• Gamgok Church (Janghowon Parish): the parish that supervised the Chungju mission chapel, the predecessor of Gyohyeon-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Eumseong, Jeungpyeong, Judeok, Jigok, Mokhaeng-dong, Munhwa-dong, Allim-dong and Yeonsu-dong parishes: parishes separated from Gyohyeon-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center for the Deaf: an educational institution for the hearing impaired operated by the Diocese of Cheongju within the church grounds (Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Gyohyeon-dong Parish” (Vol. 1). Mission chapel in 1928, elevation to parish in 1945, expansion and new construction, separated parishes, parish membership and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/530
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia “Gyohyeon-dong Church”. Establishment process, parish church built in 1964, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, present condition.
   https://chungju.grandculture.net/chungju/toc/GC01902135
3. Catholic Diocese of Cheongju, Parish Information “Gyohyeon-dong Church”. Establishment date on November 21, 1945, patron Saint Joseph.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23017