Cheongpyeong Catholic Church

Overview

Cheongpyeong Church is a church in Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Chuncheon. October 7, 1953, the Cheongpyeong Catholic mission chapel of Yangpyeong Parish was elevated to a parish and established, and its patron is St. Lawrence. The Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia describes this church as the first Catholic parish established in Gapyeong-gun.

History

[Before the Establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it is uncertain when Catholicism was first introduced to the Cheongpyeong area. After Liberation, an earthenware factory was built on the site of the present Cheongpyeong Parish, and among the people who migrated there to work were believers. They held mission chapel services at the house of Kim Dong-su, the factory manager, made their Easter confession at the nearby Pohwechon Catholic mission chapel (the present Sangsaek Catholic mission chapel), and went to the Jukrim-dong Cathedral Parish in Chuncheon for major feasts. During the Korean War, in 1952, Major General Fly, commander of the U.S. 2 Division, built an orphanage for war orphans on this earthenware factory site and entrusted its operation to the Protestant elder Jang Gwang-yeol; when the U.S. military later asked Father Yun Eul-su to run it, Father Yun named the orphanage ‘Chinaewon’ and cared for the orphans together with the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres. Father Yun celebrated Mass in the Chinaewon hall, and believers in the Cheongpyeong area also attended there.

[Establishment of the Parish and the First Church] October 1953, the Cheongpyeong Catholic mission chapel was separated from Yangpyeong Parish and elevated to a parish, and Father John Im Eung-seung took office as the first pastor. Amid difficulties with few church buildings and few believers, Father Im evangelized and devoted himself to building a church, receiving a promise from the U.S. military to build the church and obtaining approval from the Seoul Vicariate, but, unable to secure a site, he was transferred to Daebang-dong Parish in Seoul without starting construction (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

The 2 pastor, Father Yun Eul-su, focused on building the church, held the groundbreaking ceremony August 1955 and completed construction December, holding the blessing ceremony. As missionary activities, land reclamation work, and relief supply distribution rapidly increased the number of believers, he purchased land in each area and erected mission chapel buildings, and from 1955 to 1957 built halls for the Gapyeong, Hyeon-ri, Daeseong-ri, Imcho-ri, Hangsa-ri, Daebo-ri, and Jidun-ri Catholic mission chapels. September 1957, he elevated the Gapyeong Catholic mission chapel under the parish’s jurisdiction to a parish, transferring the Gapyeong-eup and Buk-myeon areas and the Sangsaek Catholic mission chapel to the new parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[Incorporation into the Diocese of Chuncheon and Chinaewon] The 3 pastor, Father Bong Hui-man, May 1961 took over Chinaewon, which had been an institution under the social work organization ‘Golombasa,’ as an institution under the parish and continued the orphan care work. November 19, 1969, as Gapyeong-gun and Pocheon-gun in Gyeonggi-do, which had been under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Seoul, were incorporated into the Diocese of Chuncheon, Cheongpyeong Parish also became part of the Diocese of Chuncheon. March 17, 1970, when the 250-pyeong Chinaewon building was completely destroyed by fire, he pushed for new construction and held the groundbreaking ceremony September 1, but construction was halted December 1971 due to construction cost problems, and, unable to pay the construction costs, Chinaewon was closed at the diocesan level (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[Pastoral Care by the Missionary Society of St. Columban] March 1972, as Father O’Brien took office as the 4 pastor, pastoral care by priests of the Missionary Society of St. Columban began. Father O’Brien December 1972 founded the Saetbyeol Praesidium, the parish’s first Legion of Mary, and from early 1973 held a Holy Hour service on the first Thursday of each month. The 6 pastor, Father Oxley, as the Hyeon-ri Catholic mission chapel became too small due to growth in the number of believers, began new construction April 1979 and completed it July (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia also records that priests of the Missionary Society of St. Columban began pastoral care from 1972.

[In the 1980s] August 30, 1980, as Father Kim Hyeon-jun took office as the 7 pastor, pastoral care by Korean priests resumed. Father Kim held nine novenas from September 8, 1980 to November 27, set the pastoral goal as ‘believers who pray, believers who study, believers who serve,’ and from November 2, 1980 published the Cheongpyeong parish bulletin using one page of the Seoul bulletin. From September 1983, for about 2 months, he carried out extensive repairs to the church and the rectory, and in 1983, he raised funds for building the church through the ‘Jubaekhoe Movement,’ in which every believer offered 100 won each on 1 Sunday (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

When the 8 pastor, Father Yang Wan-mo, was in office, new church construction began August 1986 and was completed December 15, 4 months later, and the blessing ceremony was celebrated by the 5 Bishop of Chuncheon, Bishop Stewart (T. Stewart, Park) (the Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia records the completion of the new church construction and the blessing ceremony as December 1986). In 1987, a statue of the Virgin Mary was installed, and after the new church was built, the old church was used as a Sunday school catechism classroom.

[After the 1990s] The 9 pastor, Father Cheon Sin-gi, June 16, 1991 began construction of an education center on the slab frame of the Chinaewon building, which had been left neglected for over 20 years, completed it October 14 and held the blessing ceremony (the Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia records the completion of the education center construction as October 1991). April 13, 1991, the Beloved Mother Curia was established in the parish, and March 1992 sisters of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Our Lady of Mirinae were dispatched. When the 10 pastor, Father Mun Yang-gi, was in office, October 1993 a celebration for the 40 anniversary of the parish establishment was held on 9-10, and April 24, 1994 a ceremony was held to commemorate the publication of the 《History of Cheongpyeong Parish for 40 Years》. The 11 pastor, Father Kim Hyeon-sin, August 1999 received the Mogok House of Prayer under the jurisdiction of Cheongpyeong Parish. The 12 pastor, Father Kim Myeong-sik, began construction of a small chapel and multipurpose hall May 2001, completed it August 10 and held the blessing ceremony, and, marking the 50 anniversary of the parish establishment, celebrated the 50 anniversary Mass October 12, 2003 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia records that the old church was newly repaired in 2013 and that the number of believers was over 1,300.

[Numbers of Believers and Successive Pastors] The numbers of believers recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 271 in 1953, 1,177 in 1958, 898 in 1965, 662 in 1972, 786 in 1979, 574 in 1983, 669 in 1989, 798 in 1993, 880 in 1996, and 1,220 in 2003. The jurisdiction is recorded as covering all of Cheongpyeong-myeon and Seorak-myeon in Gapyeong-gun and part of Mogok-ri, Seo-myeon in Hongcheon-gun, with 2 Catholic mission chapels under its jurisdiction, Mogok and Seorak. The successive priests are the first, John Im Eung-seung (1953.10-1954.10), the 2, Laurence Yun Eul-su (1954.10-1960.3), the 3, Anthony Bong Hui-man (1960.3-1972.3), the 4, Anthony O’Brien (A. O'Brien, Shin) (1972.3-1974.4), the 5, Gabinus Connors (K. Connors, Go) (1974.4-1978.1), the 6, John Oxley (S. Oxley, Ok) (1978.1-1980.8), the 7, Julius Kim Hyeon-jun (1980.8-1985.9), the 8, James Yang Wan-mo (1985.9-1990.2), the 9, John the Baptist Cheon Sin-gi (1990.2-1992.7), the 10, Daniel Mun Yang-gi (1992.7-1996.8), the 11, Joseph Kim Hyeon-sin (1996.8-2000.9), the 12, Gabriel Kim Myeong-sik (2000.9-2004.9), and the 13, Thomas Shin Ho-cheol (2004.9-) (as of the time the encyclopedia was written).

Related Places and People

• Cheongpyeong Church Seorak Catholic mission chapel (present Miwon Church): originating as a believers’ community of over 10 people, including Yu Tae-gyeong, at the Seolgok-ri Catholic mission chapel of Yongmun Parish in Yangpyeong-gun in the 1920s, it came under the jurisdiction of Cheongpyeong Parish in 1953, its chapel was completed and blessed November 23, 1995, and September 14, 2008 the Diocese of Chuncheon elevated it as ‘Miwon St. Paul Church’ and established it as a parish (Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia).
• Gapyeong Church: September 1957, it is a parish created when the Gapyeong Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Cheongpyeong Parish was elevated to a parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Chinaewon: originating as an orphanage built by the U.S. military during the Korean War in 1952, it was named and run by Father Yun Eul-su, taken over by Cheongpyeong Parish in 1961, and completely destroyed by fire in 1970 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Mogok House of Prayer and Mogok Catholic mission chapel: there is the Mogok House of Prayer, transferred under the jurisdiction of Cheongpyeong Parish August 1999, and the encyclopedia lists Mogok and Seorak as the chapels under its jurisdiction (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Cheongpyeong Parish.” Believers at the earthenware factory and Chinaewon, parish establishment in 1953, church blessing in 1955, incorporation into the Diocese of Chuncheon, new church in 1986, numbers of believers and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5969
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia “Cheongpyeong Church.” Establishment October 7, 1953, the first parish in Gapyeong-gun, Columban pastoral care, church blessing in 1986, education center in 1991, old church repairs in 2013.
   https://www.grandculture.net/gapyeong/toc/GC07901190
3. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Gapyeong Culture Encyclopedia “Cheongpyeong Church Seorak Catholic Mission Chapel.” Origins of the Seorak mission chapel and elevation to Miwon Church in 2008.
   https://www.grandculture.net/gapyeong/toc/GC07901191