Heungdeok Catholic Church

History & origins

Heungdeok Parish was separated from Sajik 2-dong Parish as that community expanded and the number of Catholics increased. Both the Digital Cheongju Cultural Encyclopedia and the official Diocese of Cheongju record June 3, 1990, as the parish establishment date. At the time of separation, a new parish was organized to serve Sajik 1-dong, Uncheon-dong, and part of Sinbong-dong, with Fr. John Kwak Dong-cheol as the first pastor.

The present church building was not erected immediately when the parish was established. According to the local cultural record, a groundbreaking ceremony for the church took place in August 1993, and the church was dedicated in 1996, giving the parish community a permanent central worship space. The establishment of the parish in 1990 and the completion of the church in the mid-1990s therefore show two distinct stages: the creation of the pastoral community and the later settlement of its physical church.

The parish subsequently broadened its life beyond internal Catholic activities to include service in the local community. Records describe the St. Vincent de Paul group and other devotional and service organizations supporting elderly people living alone and volunteering at welfare institutions. The history of Heungdeok thus illustrates the growth of an urban Cheongju parish: born from demographic and pastoral expansion, consolidated through church construction and community organization, and later extending its service to the surrounding neighborhood.