Miwon Catholic Church

Overview

Miwon Church is a church in Miwon-myeon, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju. Until the early 1960s, the Miwon-myeon area was under the jurisdiction of Seoun-dong Parish in downtown Cheongju, and in 1964 it was separated from Seoun-dong Parish to establish a parish. Its patron is Our Lady of Victory.

History

[Background of establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, until the early 1960s the Miwon-myeon area was under the jurisdiction of Seoun-dong Parish in downtown Cheongju, but because of the long distance to the parish, the faithful suffered great inconvenience and pastoral care of the parish was also difficult. Accordingly, the Maryknoll Missioners, which held pastoral authority for the Diocese of Cheongju, tried to establish a parish in Miwon-myeon in 1963, but postponed it for a time because of a shortage of diocesan priests, and then drew up the establishment plan again early the following year.

[Establishment of the parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, after purchasing a site of 2,301 pyeong at the present parish location, construction of the church proceeded smoothly under Father Reilly (P. Reilly, Song), who re-entered the country around August of that year and was appointed as the first pastor, and on November 1, 1964 Miwon Parish was separated and established from Seoun-dong Parish. Miwon Parish came to have jurisdiction over Miwon-myeon and Yangseong-myeon in Cheongwon-gun, the Cheongcheon-myeon area in Goesan-gun, and part of Naebuk-myeon in Boeun-gun, and by the end of the same year completed a church and rectory with a size of 130 pyeong. The Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia states that after separation from Cheongju Seoun-dong Parish in November 1964 and completion of the church and rectory, it was established on December 28, 1964, and the parish information on the Cheongju Diocese website also lists the establishment date as December 28, 1964. This differs from the establishment date in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia (November 1, 1964).

[Early facilities] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1965 an education hall of 80 pyeong was built, and in September 1968 a convent building was newly built and sisters of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs were dispatched. At this time an auditorium was also built and used as a meeting place for various lay apostolate groups and as catechism classrooms for Sunday school. After the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, in 1978 a branch house of the Sisters of St. Paul (denoted in the encyclopedia as “Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres”) was established and later closed, and it is recorded that from July 1991 members of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Mirinae have been helping parish pastoral activities.

[Period without a resident pastor and recovery] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, from the late 1970s Miwon Parish could not have a formally appointed pastor, and priests from the nearby Seoun-dong and Sudong parishes and priests serving as the diocesan chancellor and pastoral director briefly took charge of parish pastoral care, or a military chaplain belonging to the Archdiocese of Seoul was sometimes dispatched. As this situation continued until the mid-1980s, the number of faithful declined sharply. In August 1986 Father Leo Yeon Je-sik was appointed as the 9 pastor, so the parish welcomed a resident pastor after 8 years, and Father Yeon prepared catechetical education and various faith courses and inaugurated the ‘Our Lady of Victory’ Curia on October 12, 1986, achieving results in bringing lapsed Catholics back and in bringing catechumens into the Church through Legion of Mary activities. In November 1990, during the time of the 11 pastor, Father Matthew Lee Seung-yong, the deteriorated church and convent buildings were repaired. As a result of such evangelization activities, the parish size grew nearly twofold, and on June 3, 1997 Cheongcheon Parish was divided off and the parish registers of 537 members were transferred.

[Parish size and successive pastors] The parish sizes recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 850 members in 1972, 772 members in 1979, 722 members in 1984, 1,237 members in 1990, and 1,552 members in 1995. The successive priests were the founder Philip Reilly (1964.11–1967.6), the 2 Leo Gyeong Deok-su (1967.9–1970.3), the 3 Sylvester Park Gi-hyeon (1970.3–1972.4), the 4 Raphael Hong Seok-jung (1972.4–1973.12), the 5 Lawrence Lee Han-gu (1973.12–1974.10), the 6 Park Gi-hyeon (1974.10–1975.2), the 7 John Yun Gi-guk (1975.2–1976.5), the 8 Benedict Kim Byeong-cheol (1976.5–1978.8), interim Gyeong Deok-su (1978.8–1982.7), interim Anthony Jeong Chung-il (1983.8–1985.12), administrator John the Apostle Kim Hong-jin (1985.12–1986.8), the 9 Leo Yeon Je-sik (1986.8–1988.2), the 10 Thomas Aquinas Kim Ung-ryeol (1988.2–1989.7), the 11 Matthew Lee Seung-yong (1989.7–1991.5), the 12 Aloysius Kim Nam-o (1991.5–1993.4), the 13 Anthony Kang Seong-ho (1993.4–1997.4), and the 14 John Lee Tae-jong (1997.4–). The Catholic mission chapels are listed as 2 locations in Chang-ri and Nangseong.

[Later developments] According to the Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia, in February 2020 the education hall ‘Philip Hall’ was newly built. The present pastoral jurisdiction covers Nangseong-myeon and Miwon-myeon in Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Naebuk-myeon in Boeun-gun, and the Cheongcheon-myeon area in Goesan-gun, with a total of 914 faithful. It is recorded that groups such as the Marian Association, Mothers’ Association, Senior Citizens’ Association, Curia (Legion), Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Ultreya (Cursillo), Choir, St. Joseph’s Association, and Association for the Deceased are active, and that they provide medical volunteer service for elderly people in the area and Korean-language education volunteer service for migrant women.

Related Places and People

• Seoun-dong Church: It is the mother parish from which Miwon Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Cheongcheon Church: It is the parish divided from Miwon Parish on June 3, 1997 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Maryknoll Missioners: It is the mission society that held pastoral authority for the Diocese of Cheongju at the time (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Miwon Parish” (volume 5). Background of parish establishment in 1964, construction of facilities, period without a resident pastor, division of Cheongcheon Parish, parish size and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2221
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia “Miwon Church”. Establishment on December 28, 1964, construction of education hall and convent, present status.
   https://www.grandculture.net/cheongju/toc/GC00203659
3. Catholic Diocese of Cheongju, parish information “Miwon Church”. Establishment date December 28, 1964, patron saint Our Lady of Victory.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23034