Haepyeong Church

Overview

Haepyeong Church is a church in Haepyeong-myeon, Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. The Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel, which began in the late 1950s when Father Lee Gyeong-u (Gabriel) of Gumi (now Wonpyeong) Parish dispatched a catechist, passed through Seonsan Parish and was elevated to a parish on November 7, 1969. Its patron is the Holy Trinity.

History

[Beginning of the Haepyeong mission chapel] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Father Lee Gyeong-u (Gabriel), the 2 pastor of Gumi (now Wonpyeong) Parish, visited the Haepyeong area under his parish jurisdiction in the late 1950s, foresaw its potential for growth, dispatched a catechist and began to proclaim the Gospel, and that this led to the founding of the Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel. The mission chapel was briefly under the jurisdiction of Chilgok Parish and was transferred to Seonsan Parish in 1964. In 1966, Father Mueller (A. Müller, Mo An-se), the first pastor of Seonsan Parish, purchased the present parish site, and the following year built a combined rectory and mission chapel building.

[Elevation to a parish and construction of the church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, 2 years later, the Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel was elevated to Haepyeong Parish on November 7, 1969, and Father Lenhardt (A. J. Lenhard, No Do-ju) took office as the first pastor. The foundation date November 7, 1969 is also listed in the directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and in the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu. Immediately after taking office, Father Lenhardt began construction of the church and the rectory, held the dedication ceremony on August 1970, and during 17 years in office laid the foundation for parish administration.

[After incorporation into the diocese] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that in 1986, when the Waegwan vicariate was abolished and the parish was incorporated into the Archdiocese of Daegu, diocesan priests began to take office, with Father Kim Yeong-u, who had been assistant pastor of Sinam-dong Parish, taking office as the 2 pastor, followed by Father Ryu Seung-gi as the 3 pastor. Father Ryu drew up a long-term plan for the return of lapsed Catholics and from 1988 tried to revitalize small group meetings. Father Park Jin-su, the 6 pastor, conducted street evangelization in 1993 in the mission chapel district in order to revitalize Jangcheon Catholic mission chapel, the largest of the jurisdictional mission chapels, and Father O Chang-su, the 7 pastor, carried out repair work on the rectory and the Jangcheon mission chapel residence in 1994.

[After the late 1990s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Lee Jin-ho, the 9 pastor, immediately after taking office asked the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Daegu for weekend sisters, and every Saturday 2 sisters helped with liturgy and Sunday school operation, small community guidance, and home visits at the parish and Jangcheon Catholic mission chapel for about 1 years. During his tenure, Father Lee carried out extensive rebuilding of parish buildings that were more than 30 years old, including interior and exterior repairs of the parish, construction of a parking lot, building of a Marian grotto, and full repair of Jangcheon Catholic mission chapel, held a Holy Spirit Seminar on April 2000, and from the following year began praying the Liturgy of the Hours before Mass. From January 2000, as the Archdiocese of Daegu was entrusted with and operated the Gumi Youth Training Center located in the parish jurisdiction, Haepyeong Parish took charge of the center’s work, and after Father Lee Tae-u, the 10 pastor, took office, operation was returned to Gumi City. It records that, by 2005, Father Lee Seong-ho, the 11 pastor, set fostering vocations and “making a parish with no resting fellow believers” as pastoral goals.

[Jurisdictional area and church statistics] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the jurisdictional area as all of Haepyeong-myeon, Dogae-myeon, Sandong-myeon and Jangcheon-myeon in Gumi-si and part of Gasan-myeon in Chilgok-gun, and the jurisdictional mission chapels as 4 places including Naksan, Dogae, Sandong and Jangcheon Catholic mission chapels, and gives church membership as 500 in 1974, 680 in 1980, 772 in 1985, 777 in 1990, 807 in 1995, 798 in 2000, and 892 in 2004. The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives the present jurisdictional area as all of Dogae-myeon and Haepyeong-myeon in Gumi-si, the number of faithful as 281, and the number of mission chapels as 2.

[Successive pastors] The successive priests as recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first Lenhardt Arnold (1969.11–1986.1), 2 Kim Yeong-u Grisando (1986.1–1988.6), 3 Ryu Seung-gi Paul (1988.6–1989.3), 4 Choe Gyeong-hwan Francis Xavier (1989.3–1990.6), 5 O Cheol-hwan Paul (1990.6–1991.6), 6 Park Jin-su Simeon (1991.6–1993.10), 7 O Chang-su Paul (1993.10–1996.8), 8 Maeng Bong-sul John the Baptist (1996.8–1997.9), 9 Lee Jin-ho Anthony (1997.9–2002.6), 10 Lee Tae-u Francis (2002.6–2005.1), and 11 Lee Seong-ho John the Baptist (2005.1–at the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on the site purchased in 1966 a combined rectory and mission chapel building was built the following year, and after elevation to a parish Father Lenhardt began construction of the church and rectory and held the dedication ceremony on August 1970. During Father Lee Jin-ho’s tenure, rebuilding of buildings more than 30 years old took place, including construction of a parking lot and building of a Marian grotto.

Related Places and People

• Gumi (now Wonpyeong) Parish and Father Lee Gyeong-u: in the late 1950s they dispatched a catechist to the Haepyeong area, creating the occasion for the founding of the Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Seonsan Parish: it received the Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel in 1964, and its first pastor Father Mueller purchased the present parish site in 1966 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jangcheon Catholic mission chapel: it is the largest of the Catholic mission chapels under Haepyeong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Naksan, Dogae and Sandong Catholic mission chapels: they were under Haepyeong Parish at the time of writing of the encyclopedia (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gumi Youth Training Center: from January 2000 the Archdiocese of Daegu was entrusted with and operated it, Haepyeong Parish took charge of the work, and later operation was returned to Gumi City (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Haepyeong Parish” (vol. 12). Founding of the Haepyeong mission chapel, elevation to a parish in 1969, construction of church and rectory, pastoral work after incorporation into the diocese, church statistics, jurisdictional area, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6859
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Haepyeong” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Foundation date 1969.11.07, patron Holy Trinity, number of faithful, number of mission chapels, jurisdictional area.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000907&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Archdiocese of Daegu, parish information “Haepyeong”. Date of foundation November 7, 1969.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=118&premenu&srl=church_search