Peace Catholic Church

Overview

Pyeonghwa Church is a church in Pyeonghwa-dong, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. Separated and elevated from the Gimcheon (now Hwanggeum-dong) parish, it was established on October 25, 1958, with Christ the King as its patron. Based on the design by the German priest and architect Father Schmid (A. Schmid), construction began on March 1958 and was completed on October.

History

〔Background of establishment〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that in the 1950s, the Gimcheon (now Hwanggeum-dong) parish, then the center of Catholic faith in the Gimcheon area, had a wide jurisdiction and rapidly growing strength, which made pastoral care difficult. Father Dam (F. Damm, Tak Se-yeong), the 7th pastor of Hwanggeum-dong parish, planned a new church in its jurisdiction and, with the help of the faithful in his home country Germany and parishioners, purchased lot 406-1 in Pyeonghwa-dong as the church site.

〔Church construction and parish establishment〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, construction based on the design by the German priest and architect Father Schmid (A. Schmid, An) began on March 1958 and was completed on October, and Pyeonghwa-dong parish was established with a dedication ceremony presided over by Monsignor Bitterli (T. Bitterli, Lee Seong-do). At that time, Gimcheon parish changed its name to ‘Gimcheon Hwanggeum-dong Parish’ following the administrative district name. The establishment date October 25, 1958 also appears in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory and in the Archdiocese of Daegu parish information.

〔Early pastors〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that the first pastor, Father Dam, laid the foundation of the parish and planned a general hospital for the sick, but died of a heart attack on July 1964 before realizing it. During the tenure of the 2th pastor, Father Kim Yeong-geun, in 1964, the Acheon Catholic mission chapel and others were newly built, and in 1965, the parish evangelization sisters were changed from the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters to the Missionary Benedictine Sisters. During the tenure of the 3th pastor, Father Fuetterer, in 1969, seasonal schools and vacation catechism classes were held in summer and winter to guide Sunday school students, and on September 1975 a catechism room was newly built. During the tenure of the 4th pastor, Father No Gyu-chae, in May 1981, a site for a new church was prepared in Bugok-dong and 4 catechism classrooms were newly built.

〔Transfer of jurisdiction and education center〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on February 1984 jurisdiction over the parish was transferred from the Waegwan Territorial Abbacy to the Archdiocese of Daegu, so Father No Gyu-chae of the Benedictine Order left and Father Kim Yong-gil of the archdiocese took office as the 5th pastor. During the tenure of the 6th pastor, Father Jang Tae-sik, on September 1988, an education center was completed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the parish foundation. The 8th pastor, Father Jeong Seong-hae, set and carried out a ‘5-year parish pastoral plan’ from 1991 to 1995, designating a theme each year: 1991 the ‘Year of Organization,’ 1992 the ‘Year of Education,’ 1993 the ‘Year of Activity,’ 1994 the ‘Year of Interior Life,’ and 1995 the ‘Year of Love.’

〔Late 1990s onward〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that the 9th pastor, Father Kim Chung, expanded the education center on November 1996 to provide meeting rooms lacking relative to the size of the Legion of Mary, and in 1999 built a ‘common rectory’ on the Pyeonghwa-dong church grounds together with pastors of 5 parishes in the Gimcheon area. During the tenure of the 10th pastor, Father Yeo Chang-hwan, in 2000 the parish organization was reorganized into a pastoral council, a lay apostolate council, and a finance council, and in 2002 a parish faith school was opened. On November 2003, a pastoral hall (2 stories, about 200 pyeong) with offices for the pastor and assistant priest, a sisters’ office, and a parish office was built, and a blessing ceremony was held presided over by Archbishop Paul Lee Moon-hee of the Archdiocese of Daegu. It records that as of 2004, the last Sunday of each month had been designated Family Sunday to devote efforts to family evangelization.

〔Jurisdiction and statistics〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia lists the jurisdiction as Pyeonghwa-dong and Bugok-dong, part of Seongnae-dong Namsan, and all of Daehang-myeon and Bongsan-myeon in Gimcheon-si, and records church strength as 1,300 in 1958, 2,100 in 1965, 2,357 in 1969, 2,878 in 1975, 2,441 in 1980, 2,947 in 1985, 4,104 in 1990, 5,842 in 1995, 6,658 in 2000, and 3,300 in 2004. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory lists the current jurisdiction as all of Bugok-dong, Seongnae-dong, Pyeonghwa-dong, Daehang-myeon, and Bongsan-myeon and part of Namsan-dong in Gimcheon-si, with 3,570 faithful, 3 Catholic mission chapels, and the Tutzing Missionary Benedictine Sisters Daegu Convent as the affiliated congregation.

〔Successive pastors〕 The successive priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the 1st Dam Fabiano (1958.10–1964.7), 2th Kim Yeong-geun Beda (1964.7–1968.8), 3th Fuetterer (M. Fuetterer, Gwak Mi-geol) Michael (1968.8–1981.2), 4th No Gyu-chae Augustinus (1981.2–1984.1), 5th Kim Yong-gil Paul (1984.1–1987.1), 6th Jang Tae-sik Linus (1987.1–1989.6), 7th Lee Jae-myeong Paul (1989.6–1991.3), 8th Jeong Seong-hae Peter (1991.3–1996.8), 9th Kim Chung Francis Xavier (1996.8–1999.11), and 10th Yeo Chang-hwan Laurence (1999.11–at the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Pyeonghwa-dong Church, based on the design by the German priest and architect Father Schmid (A. Schmid, An), broke ground on March 1958 and was completed on October of the same year. The pastoral hall built on November 2003 is a 2-story building (about 200 pyeong) equipped with offices for the pastor and assistant priest, a sisters’ office, a parish office, and more.

Related Places and People

• Gimcheon Hwanggeum-dong Parish: the mother parish of Pyeonghwa-dong Parish; when Pyeonghwa-dong Parish was established, it changed its name to ‘Gimcheon Hwanggeum-dong Parish’ following the administrative district name (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Dam (F. Damm, Tak Se-yeong) Fabiano: as the 7th pastor of Hwanggeum-dong Parish he planned the new church, and served as the first pastor of Pyeonghwa-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Schmid (A. Schmid, An): a German priest and architect who undertook the church design (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Monsignor Bitterli (T. Bitterli, Lee Seong-do): presided over the church dedication ceremony on October 1958 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Acheon Catholic mission chapel: one of the chapels newly built in 1964 during the tenure of the 2th pastor, Father Kim Yeong-geun (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Pyeonghwa-dong Parish” (Vol. 11, Archdiocese of Daegu entry). Separation and elevation from Hwanggeum-dong Parish, church design and dedication, pastoral work of successive pastors, statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6508
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Pyeonghwa” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Establishment date 1958.10.25, patron Christ the King, number of faithful, number of chapels, congregation, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000905&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Pyeonghwa-cheong”. Date of establishment October 25, 1958.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=116&premenu&srl=church_search