Chojeon Catholic Church

Overview

Chojeon Church is a church belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu, located in Chojeon-myeon, Seongju-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The Chojeon Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of the Seongju parish developed and was separated from the Seongju parish on January 5, 1980 to become a parish; its patron is Saint Philip the Apostle, and its first head pastor was Father Kim Sang-gyu (Philip).

History

[Chojeon Catholic Mission Chapel] The Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia states that Chojeon Church began as the Chojeon mission chapel established by Park Sang-bong, president of the Cheolsan mission chapel in Jangsan-ri, Wolhang-myeon, with the land donation by Gwak Tae-mun and the help of Waegwan Abbey. At the time of the Chojeon mission chapel, the mother of Father Seong Byeong-ryeol of Homsil, Shin Susanna and others led the life of faith, and the first president for evangelization, Bae Geullara, worked for the development of the mission chapel, and in 1964 Shin Seong-dong (Paul), president for evangelization, took office and actively spread the faith for elevation to a parish. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the Chojeon mission chapel, then under the jurisdiction of the Seongju parish, received a donation of 99.17㎡ of land for the mission chapel building from Mun Jong-seok, who lived in Chojeon, in the 1950s, and later purchased an additional 1,438.01㎡ of land and held the dedication ceremony of the mission chapel building in August 1959.

[Elevation to a Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1978 the jurisdiction of the mission chapel changed from the Waegwan Vicariate to the Archdiocese of Daegu, and in January 1980 it was separated from the Seongju parish and elevated to a parish. The Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia records the change of jurisdiction as 1979 (from the Waegwan Vicariate to a parish directly under the Archdiocese of Daegu) and states that when the Chojeon mission chapel was elevated to Chojeon Church in 1980, Father Kim Sang-gyu took office as the first parish priest. The introduction of the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu give the date of establishment as January 5, 1980 and the patron as Saint Philip the Apostle.

[Period of the First to the 7 Pastor] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the first pastor, Father Kim Sang-gyu, devoted himself to preparing the church site and forming the faith community so that the newly established parish could take root, and that he continued to use the mission chapel building (115.70㎡) as the church while providing ancillary facilities. In 1981 he purchased 1,160.33㎡ of land to expand the church grounds and in June of the following year newly built a kindergarten. The 2 pastor, Father Lee Gang-tae, immediately after taking office organized the jurisdictional area into 7 districts and 15 groups and conducted prayer and Mass by group and encouraged Cursillo education. The 3 pastor, Father Son Seong-ho, conducted retreats and catechetical lectures for the faithful of the mission chapels and operated Legion of Mary groups and group organization. The 4 pastor, Father Seo Jeong-seop, and the 5 pastor, Father Kim Jeong-hwan, actively participated in the One Heart, One Body movement carried out ahead of the World Eucharistic Congress held in Seoul in October 1989. The 3 parishes in Seongju-gun (Seongju, Gacheon and Chojeon) held the “Seongju 3 Parishes Faith Festival” every year from 1990 to 1998.

[Construction of the New Church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 8 pastor, Father Lee Sang-guk, focused his pastoral care on the return of lapsed Catholics and on laying the groundwork for building a new church, and operated the parish vehicle every Sunday morning to increase Sunday Mass participation by the faithful of the mission chapels. The 9 pastor, Father Ahn Sang-ho, began construction of the new church, a long-cherished wish of the parish, in September 2001, and the 10 pastor, Father Seo Jeong-man, completed the construction of the new church (built over 2 years; 2 stories above ground and 349 pyeong) on September 28, 2003 and held the dedication ceremony officiated by Archbishop Lee Mun-hui (Paul).

[Jurisdiction and Status] The jurisdictional area recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire area of Chojeon-myeon and Byeokjin-myeon and part of Wolhang-myeon, and the affiliated mission chapels are 3 places, including the Dalchang, Byeokjin and Yongbong mission chapels. The number of faithful was 978 in 1980, 1,431 in 1985, 1,410 in 1990, 1,385 in 1995, 1,430 in 1999, and 1,211 in 2003. The Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia states that as of 2019 there were 318 households and 766 faithful, and that the affiliated mission chapels were the Dalchang, Muksan, Byeokjin, Yongbong, Inchon and Cheolsan mission chapels, of which the Dalchang, Muksan and Inchon mission chapels had ceased operation, and that it operates a Marian daycare center and contributes to the development of the local community. The successive pastors were the first, Kim Sang-gyu, Philip (1980.1–1983.5), the 2, Lee Gang-tae, Peter (1983.5–1986.1), the 3, Son Seong-ho, Joseph (1986.1–1988.6), the 4, Seo Jeong-seop, Bartholomew (1988.6–1989.3), the 5, Kim Jeong-hwan, Michael (1989.3–1991.6), the 6, Lee Chang-gyu, Matthias (1991.6–1994.8), the 7, Jeong Seong-u, Paul (1994.8–1995.2), the 8, Lee Sang-guk, Chrysologus (1995.2–1998.8), the 9, Ahn Sang-ho, Joseph (1998.8–2003.2), and the 10, Seo Jeong-man, Isidore (2003.2–).

Related Places and Figures

• Seongju Church: the mother parish that had jurisdiction over the Chojeon mission chapel and from which the Chojeon parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Waegwan Abbey (Waegwan Vicariate): the place that helped establish the Chojeon mission chapel and had jurisdiction over it until 1978–1979 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Cheolsan Mission Chapel: the mission chapel whose president Park Sang-bong led the establishment of the Chojeon mission chapel, and which is now an affiliated mission chapel of Chojeon Church (Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia).
• Dalchang, Byeokjin and Yongbong Mission Chapels: mission chapels under the jurisdiction of the Chojeon parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Chojeon Parish” (vol. 11). Separation and establishment from the Seongju parish on January 5, 1980, development of the mission chapel, dedication of the newly built church, jurisdictional area and mission chapels, number of faithful, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5990
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Seongju Culture Encyclopedia “Chojeon Church”. Beginning of the Chojeon mission chapel, elevation to a parish in 1980 and the first priest, status in 2019.
   https://www.grandculture.net/seongju/toc/GC08401022
3. Archdiocese of Daegu, parish information “Chojeon Church”. Date of establishment and patron saint.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=115&premenu=c1&srl=church_search&y_id=115