Seongsan Church

Overview

Seongsan Church is a church in Seongsan-ri, Hwachon-myeon, Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, belonging to the Diocese of Chuncheon, established on August 16, 1976 when the Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Hongcheon Parish was elevated to a parish. Its patron is the Holy Cross of Calvary, and it has administered several Catholic mission chapels, including Songjeong, Duchon, Cheoljeong, Yeoknae and Naechon.

History

〔Establishment of the Mission Chapel〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Father Crosbie (P. Crosbie, Jo Seon-hui), who returned as pastor of Hongcheon Parish after the Korean War on August 1954, increased the Catholic mission chapels from 3 to 15, newly building the halls of 12 of them, and at that time purchased 793 pyeong of land, the present church site, in Seongsan-ri and newly built a hall with an area of 30 pyeong. The Chuncheon Diocese website records that in 1956 it purchased 793 pyeong of land at lot 416 in Seongsan-ri, Hwachon-myeon, and that spring built a three-room earthen-brick chapel, thereby taking on the form of a mission chapel. The two sources thus describe the timing and scale of the mission building differently.

〔Elevation to Parish〕 As the number of faithful, at first only 12 households and 42 persons, continued to increase, the faithful repeatedly requested elevation to parish status from Thomas Park, Bishop of Chuncheon (Chuncheon Diocese website), and the diocese elevated the Seongsan-ri mission chapel to a parish on August 16, 1976 and at the same time appointed Father Paul Jeon Se-gwon as the first pastor (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). At that time the parish had 816 faithful, and Songjeong in Hwachon-myeon, Cheoljeong, Yeoknae, Duchon and Jangnam in Duchon-myeon, and the Naechon mission chapel in Naechon-myeon were all under the jurisdiction of Seongsan Parish. The Chuncheon Diocese website records that after the elevation to parish, construction of a new church building was carried out and the blessing ceremony of the church was held on September 14.

〔Early Pastoral Ministry〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, immediately after the elevation to parish Father Jeon expanded the rectory and the church, newly established a system of district leaders’ meetings, and launched several devotional groups. Under the 2th pastor, Father Thomas Song Seong-sik, and the 3th pastor, Father Thomas Jo Gyu-ho, a pastoral council and a farmers’ association were organized, a Marian Association was founded in each of the Songjeong, Duchon and Cheoljeong mission chapels, and the Yeoknae mission chapel formed a sisterhood relationship with the faithful of the Sageun-dong district of Wangsimni Parish in Seoul. The paving of the church access road was carried out with the cooperation of the Hongcheon County Office.

〔After 1987〕 The 4th pastor, Father Thomas Aquinas O Sang-cheol, completed the education center ‘House of Mary’ on November 30, 1987 and invited the Mirinae Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary on February 27, 1990. After the 7th pastor, Father Peter Gang Dong-geum, took office, construction of ancillary facilities including the convent was carried out and efforts were made to revitalize devotional activities (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

〔Church Statistics and Successive Pastors〕 The jurisdiction recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire Duchon-myeon and parts of Hwachon-myeon and Naechon-myeon, and the mission chapels under its jurisdiction are 5 in total: Duchon, Yeoknae, Cheoljeong, Songjeong and Naechon. The number of faithful was 834 in 1977, 657 in 1982, 725 in 1987, 667 in 1991, 997 in 1994, and 694 in 1997. The successive pastors are the first Father Paul Jeon Se-gwon (1976.9–1978.6), the 2th Father Thomas Song Seong-sik (1978.6–1982.11), the 3th Father Thomas Jo Gyu-ho (1982.11–1987.5), the 4th Father Thomas Aquinas O Sang-cheol (1987.5–1992.2), Benedict Jeong Gwi-cheol (1992.2–1995.2), the 6th Simon Lee Dong-ju (1995.2–1998.2), and the 7th Peter Gang Dong-geum (1998.2–present). Here ‘present’ means the time of writing of this encyclopedia, and the encyclopedia does not give the ordinal for Father Jeong Gwi-cheol. The Chuncheon Diocese website records that Seongsan Parish administers Songjeong in Hwachon-myeon, Hongcheon-gun, Cheoljeong, Yeoknae and Duchon in Duchon-myeon, and the Naechon mission chapel in Naechon-myeon, making it the parish with the most mission-chapel ministry in the Diocese of Chuncheon.

Related Places and People

• Hongcheon Parish: the mother parish to which the Seongsan mission belonged. Father Crosbie (Jo Seon-hui) promoted the construction of new mission halls as pastor of Hongcheon Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Songjeong, Duchon, Cheoljeong, Yeoknae and Naechon mission chapels: mission chapels administered by Seongsan Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Chuncheon Diocese website).
• Sageun-dong district of Wangsimni Parish: formed a sisterhood relationship with the Yeoknae mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Seongsan Parish” (Vol. 7). Purchase of mission site and construction of new hall, elevation to parish in 1976, early pastoral ministry, church statistics, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3383
2. Chuncheon Diocese website, parish “Seongsan Calvary Holy Cross Parish”. Founding year 1976.08.16., land purchase and chapel construction in 1956, church blessing ceremony, mission-chapel ministry status.
   https://www.cccatholic.or.kr/parish/parish/view/14