Mokhaeng-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Mokhaeng Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Cheongju, located in Mokhaeng-dong, Chungju, North Chungcheong Province. It began when Mokhaeng, which had been under the jurisdiction of the Chungju (now Gyohyeon-dong) parish, was established in September 1971 as the twenty-third parish of the Diocese of Cheongju; its patron is Saint Peter the Apostle and its first pastor was Father Kim Gwang-hyeok (Peter).

History

[Before the establishment of the parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Mokhaeng was until the early 1950s a small village located about 6 km north of Chungju and was in the jurisdiction of the Chungju (now Gyohyeon-dong) parish. When residents suffered economic hardship because of the 6-25 unrest, the Chungju parish distributed relief supplies provided through the Catholic Relief Committee (C.R.S.), and in March 1955 it founded the Seongsim School for Blind and Deaf Children. When the Chungju Fertilizer Plant was completed in April 1961 and many people moved in, the Church grew rapidly. Father Keane (A. Keane, Kim In-seon), the 9th pastor of the Yahyeon parish, asked Sister Park Bianne of the Seongsim School for Blind and Deaf Children to take charge of catechism and First Communion education for the young children of the technicians who had moved in, and Father Zunno (M. Zunno, Ju Eun-ro), the 10th pastor, planned a new parish here and asked Lee Jae-hu (Andrew), president of the evangelization committee, to find a church site and to evangelize. Father Gyeong Deok-su, the 11th pastor, purchased 1538.5 pyeong of the present church site.

[Establishment as a parish] The encyclopedia states that the diocese established the Mokhaeng parish on September 15, 1971 as the 23th parish of the Diocese of Cheongju. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia states that the same parish was separated from Gyohyeon-dong Church and newly established on September 5, 1971, and that Father Kim Gwang-hyeok (Peter), who had been ministering at Judeok Church in Sinyang-ri, Judeok-eup, took office as the first pastor. The Cheongju Diocese parish information lists the date of establishment as September 15, 1971. The encyclopedia’s jurisdiction covered all of Mokhaeng-dong and Yongtan-dong in Chungju and Eomjeong-myeon, Sancheok-myeon, Dongnyang-myeon and Sotae-myeon in Jungwon-gun, and parts of Geumneung-dong and Gageum-myeon in Jungwon-gun, and there were 6 Catholic mission chapels under its jurisdiction: Eomjeong, Dongnyang, Sancheok, Sotae, Gaheung and Yadong.

[Tenure of the first pastor, Father Kim Gwang-hyeok] According to the encyclopedia, the first pastor, Father Kim Gwang-hyeok, used a thatched house of 62 pyeong, purchased when the parish was established, as a temporary church and rectory. In January 1972 he organized a pastoral council and launched lay associations; in March he opened Sangji Kindergarten, and on April 3 he invited the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The church was begun on April 5, 1972 and completed 7 months later, on October 31, when the dedication ceremony was held (the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia gives the same date), and on December 10 of the same year the parish bulletin was first published and a library was opened. At the time the parish was established its patron was ‘Throne of Wisdom,’ but under the Cheongju Diocese’s decision that churches established after 1970 should be named in order from the twelve apostles in Mark chapter 3, verse 16-19, it was changed to ‘Saint Peter the Apostle.’

[The 1970s] According to the encyclopedia, the 2th pastor, Father Kim Yu-cheol, held neighborhood meetings by district, systematically organized the parish budget, organized the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to help needy neighbors, and purchased 2,000 pyeong of forest land in Hoam-dong for a common church cemetery for 3 parishes in downtown Chungju. The 3th pastor, Father Gyeong Deok-su, visited the mission chapels to teach catechism and focused on installing security lights and sidewalk blocks and on work inside the church. The 4th pastor, Father Kim Won-taek, held faith formation sessions, pilgrimages to holy places, sports meetings and outdoor Masses. In September 1976 the branch of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help withdrew, and in March of the following year a branch of the Servants of the Holy Word was established. The 5th pastor, Father Kim Gwang-myeong, completed a church annex in August 1979 and revitalized the Sunday school, and in November 1979 revived the bulletin. This bulletin had first been published in the Advent week of 1972 and then suspended, and from 1976 it had been published absorbed into a joint bulletin of 6 parishes in the Chungju district.

[The 1980s] According to the encyclopedia, the Servants of the Holy Word withdrew in May 1980; in October 1981, for the 10th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, the parish published the Mokhaeng 10-Year History, during the preparation of which the grave stone of Jeong Yak-jeon (Paul) was discovered at the Hadam-ri mission chapel in Geumga-myeon within the jurisdiction. The 6th pastor, Father Yun Gi-guk, immediately after taking office, held a general parish meeting every year and carried out annual rallies and pilgrimages to holy places and paid scholarships to needy youth, while the Church shrank as the Chungju Fertilizer Plant closed on September 4, 1983. Under the 8th pastor, Father Gwak Dong-cheol, the Legion of Mary became active, and in April 1990 the ‘Queen of Peace Curia’ was founded. According to the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia, the rectory was expanded and landscaping was done in August 1980.

[After the 1990s] According to the encyclopedia, the 10th pastor, Father Park Cheong-il, held a groundbreaking ceremony in March 1993 for a new convent and kindergarten building, and in January of the following year installed a branch of the Servants of Mary. The 11th pastor, Father Yu Geun-bae, reopened Sangji Kindergarten on February 26, 1995, which had been indefinitely closed since January 1986 because of a decline in the number of children. In 1996, for the 25th anniversary of the parish’s founding, the parish compiled the Mokhaeng Parish 25-Year History. The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia states that construction of the new convent and kindergarten was carried out on March 19, 1993, the convent was dedicated on September 26 of the same year and the kindergarten dedication was held on February 26, 1995, and the kindergarten was expanded in December 2004. The encyclopedia states that in 2001, the 30th anniversary of the parish’s founding, there was a plan to elevate the large Eomjeong mission chapel among the mission chapels under its jurisdiction to a parish, and the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia reports that the Eomjeong mission chapel was later elevated to Eomjeong Church when it built a new church in 2015.

[Church strength and successive pastors] The encyclopedia’s Church statistics are 1,124 members in 1971, 1,295 members in 1974, 1,056 members in 1979, 1,256 members in 1983, 1,477 members in 1988, 1,597 members in 1991, and 1,877 members in 1994. The successive pastors are the first, Peter Kim Gwang-hyeok (1971.9-1973.11), the 2th, Philip Kim Yu-cheol (1973.11-1975.2), the 3th, Leo Gyeong Deok-su (1975.2-1976.5), the 4th, Francis Kim Won-taek (1976.5-1979.5), the 5th, Augustine Kim Gwang-myeong (1979.5-1983.5), the 6th, John Yun Gi-guk (1983.5-1987.2), the 7th, Sylvester Park Gi-hyeon (1987.2-1988.6), the 8th, John Gwak Dong-cheol (1988.6-1990.5), the 9th, Francis Kim Yeong-hwan (1990.5-1991.11), the 10th, Evaristus Park Cheong-il (1991.11-1995.2), and the 11th, Jerome Yu Geun-bae (1995.2-). The Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia states that as of 2008, the pastor is Father Sin Dong-un (Joseph) and the number of the faithful is 1,467.

[Priests from the parish and ministry] According to the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia, from the parish were ordained Father Son Byeong-ik (Luke) on June 29, 1990, Father Yeo Seong-guk (Joseph) on January 8, 2004, and Father Lee Jae-min (John) and Father Park Jeong-ho (Michael) on January 23, 2007. The branch convents passed through the 1th-4th Sisters of Perpetual Help, the 5th-6th Sisters of the Holy Word, and the 7th-8th Servants of Mary, and as of 2008 they are the 9th-11th Mirinae Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary. For special ministry, it states that the parish visits the prison to help the devotion of inmates.

Architecture and Space

According to the Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia, Mokhaeng Church was built as a multipurpose church with the rectory, convent, library, kindergarten and parish office in one building. As of 2008, the parish has a church of about 600 square meters in a structure with 1 basement floor and 2 above-ground floors, along with convent, kindergarten, shelter and dining facilities. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the total area of the church completed in 1972 as 595.04 pyeong.

Related Places and People

• Gyohyeon-dong Church (former Chungju and Yahyeon parish): the mother parish from which the Mokhaeng parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Judeok Church: the church where the first pastor, Father Kim Gwang-hyeok, was ministering before the parish was founded (Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Eomjeong Church: the place elevated from the Eomjeong mission chapel under the Mokhaeng parish when it built a new church in 2015 (Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Mokhaeng Church Sancheok mission chapel and Dongnyang mission chapel: mission chapels under the Mokhaeng parish, of which the Dongnyang mission chapel was merged into the parish and closed in 2004 (Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia). The encyclopedia lists Eomjeong, Dongnyang, Sancheok, Sotae, Gaheung and Yadong as the mission chapels under its jurisdiction.
• Jeong Yak-jeon (Paul): in 1981, his grave stone was discovered at the Hadam-ri mission chapel in Geumga-myeon within the jurisdiction (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Mokhaeng Parish” (vol. 4). Parish establishment process, church dedication, activities during successive pastors’ terms, Church strength and successive priests, discovery of Jeong Yak-jeon’s grave stone.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2064
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia “Mokhaeng Church.” Separation and new establishment in 1971, church dedication in 1972, convent and kindergarten dedications, priests from the parish, sisters’ congregations, current state and mission chapels.
   https://chungju.grandculture.net/chungju/toc/GC01902139
3. Catholic Diocese of Cheongju, parish information “Mokhaeng Church.” Date of establishment September 15, 1971, patron Saint Peter the Apostle.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23018
4. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia “Mokhaeng Church Dongnyang Mission Chapel.” Mission chapel building expansion in 1966, merger into the parish and closure in 2004.
   https://chungju.grandculture.net/chungju/toc/GC01902149
5. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Chungju Culture Encyclopedia “Mokhaeng Church Sancheok Mission Chapel.” Founding history of the mission chapel belonging to Mokhaeng Church.
   https://chungju.grandculture.net/chungju/toc/GC01902148