Ocheon Catholic Church

Overview

Ocheon Church is a church belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu in Ocheon-eup, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Beginning as a Catholic mission chapel under Jukdo Parish in 1958, it was separated from Guryongpo Parish and elevated to a parish on July 1, 1988, its patron saint is St. Paul Chong Hasang, and its first pastor was Fr. Jang Yeong-il (Grisando).

History

[Ocheon Mission Chapel] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that in 1958, the Ocheon Catholic mission chapel under Jukdo Parish was established in the private residence of Sim U-taek (Michael, the first mission chapel president). From 1963, the Ocheon township office public hall was used as a temporary Ocheon mission chapel. In return for clearing land owned by Kim Nam-su, the owner of the present parish site, 100 pyeong was donated, and later Fr. L. Deslandes, who had been assigned to the Galpyeong Convent, purchased surrounding land to prepare the church site. Because funds to purchase materials needed for construction and new building were lacking, the site was left unattended during 7–8, then construction began with the cooperation of the faithful of Jukdo Parish, and on August 15, 1977, the mission chapel building (60 pyeong) was completed and a dedication ceremony was held.

[Transfer of the Mission Chapel] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Ocheon mission chapel was transferred to a mission chapel of Daehae Parish on February 12, 1984, and to a mission chapel of Guryongpo Parish on May 13, 1986.

[Elevation to Parish] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that on July 1, 1988, the Ocheon mission chapel was separated from Guryongpo Parish and elevated to Ocheon Parish, Fr. Jang Yeong-il took office as first pastor, and in May 1989 a convent and a rectory were built. Because the interior of the building used since the mission chapel days was narrow, a church expansion project was carried out in August 1989, and in 1990, the existing building was used to create a youth group meeting room and catechism classrooms. The establishment date in the Daegu Archdiocese parish information is also July 1, 1988.

[Periods of Successive Pastors] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2 pastor, Fr. Lee Jeong-hyo, devoted himself to a campaign to double the faithful through visits to all faithful households, reorganized the “Inseong Association” in August 1991, and in 1993, a church-building promotion committee was formed for a new church. The 3 pastor, Fr. Son Mu-jin, devoted himself to family ministry in 1994 under the pastoral guideline of a “praying family community.” The 4 pastor, Fr. Kim Du-sin, carried out small-community education and video education, raised funds for sanctuary construction and drew up a long-term parish management plan; during this period the systematization and computerization of parish office administration accelerated, and in March 1997 a survey of all the faithful was conducted to prepare the “Ocheon Church Development Plan” (short-, medium- and long-term). To commemorate the 100th anniversary of mission in Pohang, the parish planned to compile a “10-year History of the Parish” but, while organizing materials, expanded it to a “100-year History of Evangelization in Pohang” and in August 1998 published 《100 Years of Mission in Pohang, 10 Years of Ocheon Church》. The 5 pastor, Fr. Jeong Seong-u, carried out retreats, special lectures, Bible copying, and pilgrimages to holy places for the re-education of the faithful, and promoted exchange and unity among the faithful through a fellowship name-tag campaign and similar efforts.

[Jurisdiction and Statistics] The jurisdiction recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is all of Ocheon-eup, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Cheongnim-dong, and parts of Janggi-myeon. The statistics are 878 faithful in 1989, 1,702 in 1994, 1,891 in 1999, and 1,847 in 2001. The successive pastors were the first Jang Yeong-il, Grisando (1988.7–1991.6), the 2 Lee Jeong-hyo, Jerome (1991.6–1993.9), the 3 Son Mu-jin, John the Apostle (1993.9–1995.2), the 4 Kim Du-sin, John the Baptist (1995.2–1998.8), and the 5 Jeong Seong-u, Paul (1998.8–).

Related Places and People

• Jukdo Parish: the parish to which the Ocheon mission chapel belonged when it was established in 1958 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Daehae Parish: the parish that came to have jurisdiction over the Ocheon mission chapel on February 12, 1984 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Guryongpo Parish: the mother parish that received the Ocheon mission chapel on May 13, 1986 and separated and elevated it as a parish in 1988 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Fr. L. Deslandes of Galpyeong Convent: he purchased land around the church site to prepare the site (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Ocheon Parish” (Vol. 9). Separation from Guryongpo Parish and elevation on July 1, 1988, patron saint, founding and building of the Ocheon mission chapel, ministry after elevation to parish, jurisdiction, statistics, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4630
2. Archdiocese of Daegu, parish information “Ocheon Church”. Establishment date July 1, 1988, patron saint St. Paul Chong Hasang.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=101&premenu=c1&srl=church_search&y_id=101