Gachang Catholic Church

Overview

Gachang Church is a church belonging to the Daegu Archdiocese, located in Yonggye-ri, Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu Metropolitan City. Originating from the Pajami Catholic mission chapel, which appears to have been established in the late 1890s, it was separated from Sangdong Parish on September 3, 1998 and elevated to a parish. Its patron saint is Saint Gregory, and its first pastor was Father Seo Jeong-man (Isidore).

History

[Beginning of the Pajami mission chapel] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia traces the beginning of Gachang Church to the Pajami Catholic mission chapel, which appears to have been formed in this area in the 1890s. It states that Jin Isidore, who managed farmland in the Padong area owned by Gyesan Parish, can be regarded as having spread Catholicism. It says his son Jin Yong-gwon (Joachim) accompanied Park Seong-su (Joseph) of Hwawon Parish every autumn when carrying harvested crops to Gyesan Church. The same source states that a church statistical table shows Father Kim Bo-rok (Robello) of Gyesan Parish came to the Pajami Catholic mission chapel (Pajam Catholic mission chapel, Padong Catholic mission chapel) to administer the sacraments from 1900, and therefore it appears to have been established in the late 1890s. In the early period there was no mission chapel building, so believers took turns holding mission chapel services in their homes, and the church statistics for 1900-1901 list 15 believers, 10 Easter confessions and 8 Easter communions, while the statistics for 1910-1911 list 37 believers and 22 Easter confessions, showing that the number of believers increased every year.

[Up to the mission chapel building] According to the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, in the 1920s believers held Sunday mission chapel services at the Padong water mill of Mr. Eom, who managed farmland of Gyesan Parish. The place where this mission chapel stood was in the Sangsu Seomyeon area of Daegu-bu and was called Pajam or Pajam-ni. In the 1950s they left the water mill and again held mission chapel services in believers’ homes, and from 1952 to 1958 they gathered at the company house of Kim Dong-su (Joseph), who was head of the ore-dressing section at the Dalseong Mine of Daehan Jungseok, to hold mission chapel services and Easter sacraments. However, as the Dalseong Mine closed, the number of mission chapel believers also declined. Afterward, while moving among the houses of several believers to hold mission chapel services, in 1962 they purchased land in Padong with donations from the faithful and directly completed a mission chapel building, which was the first building of the Pajami mission chapel.

[Move to the Yonggye mission chapel] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that when Suseong Church was separated and established from Samdeok Church and Beomeo Church on April 1964, the Pajami Catholic mission chapel became a mission chapel under Suseong Church. Later, as the population grew more in Yonggye-dong than in Padong and the number of believers became larger there, the relocation of the mission chapel was promoted, and on July 1971 the Daegu Archdiocese purchased and repaired the land and building of the Yonggye-dong Agricultural Cooperative in Yonggye-ri, Gachang-myeon, to use as a mission chapel, so the Pajami mission chapel became the Yonggye mission chapel. When Sangdong Parish was established on October 1980, the Yonggye mission chapel became a mission chapel under Sangdong Parish together with the Sangwon mission chapel.

[Elevation to a parish] According to the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, as Dalseong-gun was incorporated into Daegu Metropolitan City on March 1995 and the left-bank road of the Sincheon River to Gachang-myeon was opened, the population of this area increased. Accordingly, a movement to elevate the Yonggye mission chapel to a parish was led by Father Choi Bong-do, pastor of Sangdong Parish, and when the elevation of the Gachang parish was formally raised at the Lay Apostolate Council of Sangdong Parish on May 1995, it met opposition fearing a weakening of Sangdong Parish, as stated. Nevertheless, the elevation work was pursued, and on September 3, 1998 the diocese separated the Yonggye mission chapel from Sangdong Parish and elevated it to Gachang Parish. The foundation date September 3, 1998 is also listed in the directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and in the parish information of the Daegu Archdiocese. The mission chapel name changed on September 3, 1998 from the Yonggye mission chapel to Gachang Church.

[Construction of the church building and later activities] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that a groundbreaking ceremony for the church building was held on June 2001 with the attendance of Father Park Won-chul (Thomas), head of District 5 of Vicariate 2, Father Seo Jeong-man (Isidore), the pastor, and parish officials, and that it was completed on November 2002. In 2004 a branch house of the Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established, and in 2007 Changpa Senior College was founded and is being operated. The first pastor was Father Seo Jeong-man (Isidore), and as of the time of writing (interview in 2016) the pastor, Father Jeong Su-cheol (James), is the 7th pastor.

[Jurisdiction and present state] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that the jurisdiction is organized into 6 districts and 27 sub-groups, with about 1,200 believers in total and about 500 believing households. It lists as major groups the Vocation Support Association, the Liturgy Association, the Military Chaplaincy Support Association, the Gregory Association, and the Daegeon Association, and states that they strive for local service and harmony with local residents. The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives the jurisdiction as all of Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, and part of Padong (from No. 184 onward), and gives the sisters’ congregation as the Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[Significance] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia evaluates it as a church with more than 100 years of history if counted from the Pajami mission chapel, having symbolic meaning for the area and being a cultural space that has accompanied local residents.

Related places and figures

• Gyesan Church (Gyesan Parish): it owned farmland in this area during the Pajami mission chapel period, and Father Kim Bo-rok (Robello) came to the mission chapel to administer sacraments from 1900 (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Suseong Church: separated and established from Samdeok and Beomeo Churches on April 1964, it administered the Pajami mission chapel (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Sangdong Parish: established on October 1980, it administered the Yonggye mission chapel and then separated Gachang Parish in 1998 (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Seo Jeong-man (Isidore): he is the first pastor (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. The Academy of Korean Studies, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, “Gachang Church”. Beginning and changes of the Pajami mission chapel, move to the Yonggye mission chapel, process of elevation to a parish in 1998, construction of the church building, current state and significance.
   https://www.grandculture.net/daegu/toc/GC40081242
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Catholic Directory of Korea, “Gachang” (Daegu Archdiocese). Foundation date 1998.9.3, patron Saint Gregory, sisters’ congregation, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000759&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Daegu Archdiocese, Parish Information, “Gachang Church”. Date of establishment September 3, 1998, patron Saint Gregory.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=7&premenu&srl=church_search