Jeungpyeong Church

Overview

Jeungpyeong Church is a church in Jeungpyeong-eup, Jeungpyeong-gun, North Chungcheong Province, belonging to the Cheongju Diocese. It originated as the Gomari Parish, which was established in Gomari, Sosu-myeon, Goesan-gun after separating from the Janghowon Parish (now Gamgok) in 1920, and moved to Jeungpyeong in 1936; its patron is the Queen of Martyrs.

History

[Establishment of Gomari Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as the number of faithful in the Gomari area grew in the 1910s, the diocese decided in 1919 to separate from Janghowon Parish to establish a new parish, and built a building in Gomari, Sosu-myeon, Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province for use as a church. The establishment of Gomari Parish was formally announced in September 1920, and Father Paul Yun Ui-byeong took office as the first parish priest. Father Yun built a new rectory in 1921, founded Sungae Uisuk School in 1923 and built a convent in 1927. The Encyclopedia records that Jeungpyeong Parish was separated and established from Janghowon Parish on September 22, 1920, while the Cheongju Diocese parish information lists the establishment date as on September 23, 1920.

[Move to Jeungpyeong] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2 parish priest, Father Luke Jeong Won-jin, considered Gomari unsuitable as a church location and moved the church to the Jeungpyeong area in April 1936. Accordingly Gomari Parish was downgraded to a Catholic mission chapel and Jeungpyeong Parish was newly established, and in May 1937 a 30 pyeong thatched church was built. After Father Mark Sim Jae-deok briefly served as the 3 parish priest and was transferred to Unhyang Parish in Pyeongan-do, Jeungpyeong Parish was left without a priest from February 1942. After liberation in August 1945, Father Philip Kim Yu-ryong took office as the 4 parish priest in October and rebuilt the parish. However, after the 5 parish priest, Father James Lee Tae-jun, was transferred in May 1950 and the Korean War broke out, the parish was downgraded to a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Chungju Parish (now Gyohyeon-dong).

[Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society Period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, when Father Michael Ju-no (M. Zunno, Ju Eun-ro) of the Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society took office as the 6 parish priest in August 1955, Jeungpyeong was again elevated to a parish. It separated Jincheon Parish in June 1956, and in August built a new 100 pyeong Gothic church, followed by a rectory and a convent. It opened the Maryknoll Clinic in March 1957 and separated Goesan Parish in December 1958. The 8 parish priest, Father Alfredo Kin (A. Keane, Kim In-seon), founded the Jeungpyeong Credit Cooperative in November 1963, and the 9 parish priest, Father Angelo Montueo (A. Montuor, Mun Geum-san), established Jangam Catholic mission chapel in April 1969, devoted himself to community development projects, and opened Pyeonghwa Kindergarten (now Seongmo Kindergarten) in March 1971. The 10 parish priest, Father Donaldo Gulle (D. Goulet, Gu Jae-guk), created a church cemetery at 114-1 Miam-ri, Jeungpyeong-eup in June 1973.

[Since the 1980s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 13 parish priest, Father Carlo Costa (C. A. Costa, Gil Go-su), completed the Marian grotto in May 1987 and held a blessing ceremony, and the 14 parish priest, Father John the Baptist Yun Gi-guk, who took office in June 1989, completed the church expansion in August. The Jeungpyeong Convent Clinic (former Maryknoll Clinic) closed on September 1, 1990, and on September 22 of the same month the 70 anniversary of the parish establishment was celebrated. Father Yun carried out parish repair work in August of the following year, moved the rectory to the convent in November and prepared a branch of the Busan St. Benedict Order. The 16 parish priest, Father Timotheo Choe Sang-hun, blessed Cheongan Catholic mission chapel in March 1994 and installed and repaired partitions for meeting rooms in the education hall in June. The 17 parish priest, Father Francisco Choe Gwang-jo, created a Eucharistic adoration room in March 1997 and separated Chojung Parish in June. The 18 parish priest, Father Carlo Im Seung-cheol, expanded Seongmo Kindergarten with a 2-story prefabricated building in July 1998 and installed a Marian statue at the church cemetery in June 1999. The 19 parish priest, Father Moses O Dong-yeong, replaced the church sanctuary wall, crucifix, Marian statue and 14 Stations in August 2000 and completed the sanctuary work in September, and in May 2001 cultivated the land behind the church into family farms for distribution, held a blessing ceremony for the statue of the Holy Family on the church lawn plaza, and completed the church environment improvement work in June.

[Jurisdiction and Church Strength] The jurisdiction recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia covers all of Doan-myeon, Sari-myeon and Cheongan-myeon and part of Jeungpyeong-eup, with 2 affiliated Catholic mission chapels including Sari and Cheongan. The church strength is: in 1972, 2,000 faithful; in 1978, 3,684 faithful; in 1984, 2,831 faithful; in 1990, 3,541 faithful; in 1995, 4,083 faithful; and in 2001, 2,581 faithful.

[Successive Parish Priests] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the following priests took office: the first, Father Paul Yun Ui-byeong (1920.9-1932.9), the 2, Father Luke Jeong Won-jin (1932.9-1941.6), the 3, Father Mark Sim Jae-deok (1941.6-1942.2), the 4, Father Philip Kim Yu-ryong (1945.10-1948.3), the 5, Father James Lee Tae-jun (1948.4-1950.5), the 6, Father Michael Ju-no (M. Zunno, Ju Eun-ro) (1955.8-1959.12), the 7, Father John Kopi (J. Coffey, Go) (1959.12-1961.12), the 8, Father Alfredo Kin (A. Keane, Kim In-seon) (1961.12-1964.4), the 9, Father Angelo Montueo (A. Montuor, Mun Geum-san) (1964.4-1972.7), the 10, Father Donaldo Gulle (D. Goulet, Gu Jae-guk) (1972.7-1975.4), the 11, Father Matthew Lee Jung-gwon (1975.4-1981.7), the 12, Father John Gwak Dong-cheol (1981.7-1982.8), the 13, Father Carlo Costa (C. A. Costa, Gil Go-su) (1982.8-1989.6), the 14, Father John the Baptist Yun Gi-guk (1989.6-1992.7), the 15, Father Thomas Lee Beom-hyeon (1992.7-1993.7), the 16, Father Timotheo Choe Sang-hun (1993.7-1995.11), the 17, Father Francisco Choe Gwang-jo (1995.11-1998.6), the 18, Father Carlo Im Seung-cheol (1998.6-1999.8), the 19, Father Moses O Dong-yeong (1999.8-2003.1), and the 20, Father James Hwang Jong-hyeon (2003.1-).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in Jeungpyeong a 30 pyeong thatched church was built in May 1937, and a 100 pyeong Gothic church was newly built in August 1956. Later there were a church expansion in August 1989, and replacement of the sanctuary wall, crucifix, Marian statue and 14 Stations and sanctuary work from 8 to September 2000.

Related Places and People

• Gomari Parish (Gomari, Sosu-myeon, Goesan-gun): the predecessor of Jeungpyeong Parish, established in 1920 and downgraded to a Catholic mission chapel upon the church relocation in 1936 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Janghowon Parish (now Gamgok Church): the mother parish from which Jeungpyeong Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jincheon Parish (1956.6), Goesan Parish (1958.12) and Chojung Parish (1997.6): parishes separated from Jeungpyeong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• The Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society and Maryknoll Clinic (Jeungpyeong Convent Clinic): Father Ju-no took office in 1955, opened the Maryknoll Clinic in March 1957, and this clinic closed on September 1, 1990 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Jeungpyeong Parish”. Establishment of Gomari Parish and relocation to Jeungpyeong, elevation to parish and separated parishes, facility works, jurisdiction, church strength, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5800
2. Cheongju Diocese, parish information “Jeungpyeong Church”. Establishment date September 23, 1920, patron Queen of Martyrs.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23044