Gapyeong Catholic Church

Overview

Gapyeong Church is a church in Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do belonging to the Diocese of Chuncheon, and was established in 1957 after separation from Cheongpyeong Parish. Its patron is Mary, Mother of God, and on November 19, 1969 it was transferred from the Archdiocese of Seoul to the Diocese of Chuncheon through an adjustment of diocesan jurisdiction.

History

〔Mission Chapel Period〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Catholicism was introduced to the Gapyeong area at the end of the persecution period, and by the early 1890s 2–3 Catholic mission chapels had already been established nearby. These mission chapels came to belong to Cheongpyeong Parish in 1953, but the faithful of the Gapyeong mission chapel suffered great inconvenience because the parish was far away.

〔Parish Establishment〕 During the tenure of the 2 pastor of Cheongpyeong Parish, Father Yun Eul-su (John), parish independence was requested, and with the permission of the parish priest, while working to secure a site, approval for establishment was received from the Seoul Archdiocesan Curia. At the time there were only 132 faithful, but centered on the first pastor, Father Cho In-won (Vincentio), they worked to build the church and held the dedication ceremony on December of the same year (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The establishment date differs by source. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that it was separated and established from Cheongpyeong Parish on November 16, 1957, while the Chuncheon Diocese website gives the founding year as September 1, 1957.

〔Transfer to the Diocese of Chuncheon〕 Gapyeong Parish was transferred from the Archdiocese of Seoul to the Diocese of Chuncheon on November 19, 1969, when there were 504 faithful (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia; the Chuncheon Diocese website describes it as a transfer following an adjustment of diocesan jurisdiction). The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that due to regional conditions the number of faithful did not increase much afterward and frequent transfers of parish priests caused difficulties, and that after the number of faithful recorded 789 in 1989, it rather decreased due to rural population movement to 748 in 1993.

〔Seongga Kindergarten and the Present Church〕 According to the Chuncheon Diocese website, on March 1983 with the cooperation of Gapyeong-gun, it established ‘Seongga Kindergarten’ and devoted itself to evangelization and service in the region, but in 1993 subsidies from Gapyeong-gun were discontinued and, as many kindergartens and preschools crowded into the area, Seongga Kindergarten closed. The present church building is the one dedicated on June 24, 1996.

〔Jurisdiction and Successive Pastors〕 The jurisdiction as recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia covers Gapyeong-eup and Buk-myeon, and Bangha-ri, Baegyang-ri and Seocheon-ri in Nam-myeon, Chunseong-gun, with 1 mission chapel in Sangsaek. The successive parish priests were the first, Cho In-won Vincentio (1957–1963), the 2, Park Go-bin Simeon (1963–1965.7), the 3, Yang Gi-seop Peter (1965.7–1967.4), the 4, Han Hui-dong Gregory (1967.4–1968), the 5, Son Yeong-il Barnabas (1968–1969.11), the 6, Du Gan (James Duggan, Hong) James (1969.11–1973.3), the 7, Oxley (Sean Oxley, Ok) John (1973.4–1977), the 8, McGowan (Patrick McGowan, Won) Patrick (1977–1979), the 9, McGonagle (Denis McGonagle, Ryu) Denis (1979–1981), the 10, Comerford (Tomas Comerford, Gong) Thomas (1981–1982), the 11, Heo Dong-seon Matthew (1982–1985.9), the 12, Comerford Thomas (1985.9–1988), the 13, Mun Yang-gi Daniel (1988–1993.9), and the 14, Lee Eung-hyeon Theodore (1993.9–present). Here ‘present’ means the time of writing of this encyclopedia.

Related Places and People

• Cheongpyeong Parish: In 1953 it had jurisdiction over the Gapyeong mission chapels, and in 1957 Gapyeong Parish was separated from it as its mother parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Chuncheon Diocese website).
• Archdiocese of Seoul: The diocese to which Gapyeong Parish belonged before its transfer to the Diocese of Chuncheon on November 19, 1969 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Chuncheon Diocese website).
• Seongga Kindergarten: Established on March 1983 and closed in 1993 (Chuncheon Diocese website).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Gapyeong Parish” (1 vol.). Mission chapel establishment and affiliation to Cheongpyeong Parish, parish separation and establishment in 1957, transfer to the Diocese of Chuncheon in 1969, church statistics, successive parish priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/164
2. Chuncheon Diocese website, parish “Gapyeong Mary, Mother of God Parish”. Founding year 1957.09.01., diocesan transfer in 1969, Seongga Kindergarten in 1983, dedication of the present church in 1996.
   https://www.cccatholic.or.kr/parish/parish/view/53