Deoksu Catholic Church

Overview

Deoksu Church is a church located in Deoksu-dong, Buk-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, under the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu. As the population grew following the establishment of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company, it was divided from Pohang Parish (now Jukdo) and established as a parish on December 1977, with Our Lady of the Rosary (the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary) as its patron. On May 31, 1981, the new church, rectory, and convent were dedicated.

History

〔Preparations for the Division〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that, as the population of Pohang-si surged with the establishment of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company in 1968 and the formation of the steel industrial complex, Pohang Parish, then the only parish in the Pohang area, prepared to divide off a daughter parish. On August 1977, an old Japanese-style building at No. 53-5, Deoksu-dong, Pohang-si, with land of 214 pyeong and a total floor area of 70 pyeong, was purchased with parishioners’ fundraising and diocesan assistance, and in that year on October a church construction committee was formed.

〔Establishment of the Parish and the Temporary Church〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Deoksu-dong Parish was separated from Pohang Parish (now Jukdo) and established on December 1977. With the establishment of the parish, Father Clement Kim Mun-sun was appointed as the first pastor and led the preparations, and on March 1978 the old Japanese-style building was remodeled into a temporary church with a church (50 pyeong) and a rectory (20 pyeong), where the first Mass was celebrated on March 12. From February 1978, a campaign to offer 10 ten thousand decades of the Rosary for the construction of the new church was conducted, a parish bulletin was first published on March, and a branch house of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established on June. Meanwhile, the Korean Catholic Directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu list the date of establishment as January 4, 1978, differing in wording from the encyclopedia’s account of establishment on ‘December 1977’.

〔Construction and Dedication of the New Church〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that, as the temporary church became dilapidated and the number of faithful increased, making the construction of a new church urgent, on June 1980 a Protestant church building with land of 434 pyeong and a building area of 170 pyeong was purchased, and construction of the new building began from July. With the cooperation of the faithful, including a campaign to double offerings and volunteer labor at the construction site, the work was completed, and on May 31, 1981 a church, rectory, and convent with a total size of 200 pyeong were dedicated in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Lee Mun-hui.

〔Education Center and Charitable Activities〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, a meeting room was completed on April 1985, and on August 1987 the house of Our Lady of Charity Home at No. 42-4, Deoksu-dong, affiliated with the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was acquired and used as an education center. As building a new education center became unavoidable, an education center construction committee was formed on February 1989, and in the same year on June a prefabricated education center with a size of 120 pyeong was completed. On October 1984 a night market was held to help nursing homes and persons with disabilities, and on October 1985 a night market to help the Charity Home and in the same year on December a thrift market to help neighbors in need were held. It states that regular events include retreats for women’s groups, Lenten guest lectures, the Lenten Stations of the Cross, the Night of Our Lady, a sports festival for the patronal feast, and a Christmas choir contest, and that a pilgrimage to holy places for all parishioners is held every year during the Martyrs’ Month.

〔Division of Jangseong Parish and the 15-Year History〕 On August 1993, Jangseong Parish was divided off, and in the same year on October, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, the 《Deoksu Parish 15-Year History》, presenting the parish history and the introduction of the Catholic Church to the Pohang area with photographs and illustrations, was published (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

〔Jurisdiction and Membership〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records the jurisdiction at the time of the parish’s establishment as Deoksu-dong, Deoksan-dong, Daesin-dong, Daeheung-dong, Dongbin-dong, Haksan-dong, Sinheung-dong, Uhyeon-dong, Yeocheon-dong, Jungang-dong, Duho-dong, Changpo-dong, Jangseong-dong, Hwanho-dong, Yeonam-dong, and Yongheung 1-dong in Buk-gu, Pohang-si, and Heunghae-eup, Cheongha-myeon, Singwang-myeon, and Songra-myeon in Yeongil-gun, and records membership as in 1977, 522 people, in 1980, 826 people, in 1984, 1,726 people, in 1988, 3,237 people, in 1992, 4,799 people, and in 1994, 1,843 people. The Korean Catholic Directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea records the jurisdiction as all of Jungang-dong, Haksan-dong, and Uhyeon-dong in Pohang-si and part of Yongheung-dong, the number of faithful as 1,466, the affiliated religious community as the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and states that there are no Catholic mission chapels.

〔Successive Pastors〕 The successive priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first, Clement Kim Mun-sun (1977.12–1982.1), the 2 pastor, Paul Kim Jae-myeong (1982.1–1985.4), the 3 pastor, Job Lee Jae-won (1985.4–1988.6), the 4 pastor, Thaddeus Cho Hwan-gil (1988.6–1992.6), the 5 pastor, Moses Kwon Hyeok-si (1992.6–1993.11), and the 6 pastor, Peter Lee Gang-tae (1993.11–present at the time the encyclopedia was compiled).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the temporary church was the old Japanese-style building purchased on August 1977 (total floor area 70 pyeong), remodeled into a church of 50 pyeong and a rectory of 20 pyeong. The church dedicated on May 1981 was newly built on the Protestant church building purchased on June 1980 (land 434 pyeong, building area 170 pyeong), completed at a size of 200 pyeong with a church, rectory, and convent.

Related Places and People

• Pohang Parish (now Jukdo): the mother parish from which Deoksu Parish was separated on December 1977 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jangseong Parish: divided from Deoksu-dong Parish on August 1993 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Clement Kim Mun-sun: as the first pastor of Deoksu-dong Parish, he led the remodeling of the temporary church and the first Mass (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Archbishop Lee Mun-hui: presided over the dedication of the new church, rectory, and convent on May 31, 1981 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Deoksu-dong Parish” (Vol. 3). Separation and establishment from Pohang Parish on December 1977, temporary church and dedication in 1981, education center, division of Jangseong Parish in 1993, membership, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1336
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Deoksu” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Date of establishment 1978.01.04, patron the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, number of faithful, religious community, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000793&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Deoksu”. Date of establishment January 4, 1978.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=31&premenu&srl=church_search