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About this place
Hwacheon Parish of the Savior belongs to the Chuncheon District of the Diocese of Chuncheon and provides liturgical and pastoral care for the Catholic community centered on Hwacheon-eup. Its patronal title is the Savior. The parish developed together with a number of mission communities that arose across the Hwacheon area, and it remains connected with local communities such as Oeum-ri and Sachang-ri. Hwacheon Catholic Church therefore has a clear identity as the pastoral center linking the parish church in town with surrounding mission stations.
The parish grew out of a Catholic community that began as a mission station of Soyangro Parish when the number of Catholics in Hwacheon increased after the Korean War. As mission stations were established in surrounding areas and pastoral responsibilities expanded, an independent parish became necessary. Today Hwacheon Catholic Church continues that role by bringing together sacramental life, Mass, catechesis, and community life and by providing an organized pastoral center for Catholics throughout the Hwacheon area.
To understand the parish today, it is useful to view the parish church and its mission stations as one regional Catholic network. The church in Hwacheon-eup is the principal place for the sacraments and parish gatherings, while the mission stations allow Catholics in outlying areas to sustain their faith closer to home. This relationship reflects a characteristic form of pastoral care in the geographically broad Diocese of Chuncheon.
History & origins
The formation of a parish in Hwacheon began with the growth of the Catholic population after the Korean War. According to the Diocese of Chuncheon, a chapel was established in Hwacheon-eup in 1957 and the community became a mission station of Soyangro Parish. Woncheon-ri Mission Station followed in 1960, Oeum-ri and Sinpo-ri in 1961, and Samgeori and Sachang-ri in 1962, expanding Catholic communities across the Hwacheon area.
In 1963, Fr. Thomas Park visited the mission stations and concluded that an independent parish was needed in Hwacheon. Preparations became concrete, including securing the present parish site. The official diocesan parish information records February 26, 1965, as the establishment date of Hwacheon Parish of the Savior. Once established, the parish assumed responsibility for the area’s mission stations, bringing scattered Catholic communities into one pastoral structure.
As the original church aged, construction of a new church was undertaken, and the new building was dedicated in May 2001. Later, Sachang-ri Mission Station also replaced its deteriorated building with a new one, which was blessed in 2015. The progression from a small postwar chapel and mission station to a parish caring for several local communities shows the gradual growth of Catholic life in the Hwacheon area.
It is important to distinguish the preparatory stage recorded for 1963 from the official parish establishment in 1965. The year 1963 marks the point when the need for a parish was clearly recognized and the present site was secured, while diocesan basic information gives February 26, 1965, as the formal establishment date. Keeping these stages distinct clarifies how Hwacheon moved from a network of mission stations to an independent parish.
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Chuncheon Diocese (Diocese of Chuncheon)
Official website: http://www.cccatholic.or.kr
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