Seongbuk Catholic Church

Overview

Seongbuk Church is a church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu located in Sangyeok-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. May 1986 it was established by separation from Chimsan Parish and Sangyeok Parish, and its patron is St. Agnes Kim Hyo-ju. It was one of the new church construction plans promoted as the project commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Catholic Church.

History

〔Preparation for establishment〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the Archdiocese of Daegu promoted the construction of new churches from January 1983 as the project commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Catholic Church, and that the plan to establish Seongbuk Parish was one of them. In that year, August Jeong Wol-saeng (Agnes) donated the present church site of 501 pyeong, giving concrete shape to the new church construction, and June 1985 the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church was held and construction began.

〔Establishment and completion of the church〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the following year Seongbuk Parish was established as of May 14, 1986, with Fr. Andrew Gu Bon-sik taking office as the first pastor, and December 1987 the church (341 pyeong) and the rectory (76 pyeong) were completed. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu record the date of establishment as May 23, 1986, differing by source. The encyclopedia records the patron as St. Agnes Kim Hyo-ju, and the address book records St. Agnes Kim Hyo-ju.

〔Later history〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the parish invited the Dongjeong Marian Society on June 1986, built the convent (34 pyeong) on October 1989, and completed the ‘House of Sharing’ (21 pyeong) as a place of fellowship and harmony on March 1993. On May 1996 it held an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the parish establishment. The encyclopedia states that the original Seongbuk Parish district was strongly conservative and evangelization was difficult, but these problems have gradually been overcome in recent years, and that with apartment complexes being built in the Mutae area population growth is expected, leaving purchase of a site for a new church as an urgent task.

〔Jurisdiction and church statistics〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the jurisdiction as all of Sangyeok-1-dong, Dongbyeon-dong, Seobyeon-dong and Yeongyeong-dong and parts of Sangyeok-2-dong and -4-dong, and gives the statistics as 1,517 faithful in 1989, 1,867 faithful in 1993, and 2,174 faithful in 1996. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives the jurisdictional area as all of Sangyeok-1-dong and parts of Sangyeok-2-dong and -4-dong, the number of faithful as 748, the affiliated religious congregation as the Congregation of Jesus, and states that there is no Catholic mission chapel.

〔Successive pastors〕 The successive priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first Andrew Gu Bon-sik (1986.5~1987.6), No. 2 James Choe Chang-ho (1987.6~1991.6), No. 3 Thomas Aquinas Kim Sang-yeol (1991.6~1994.8), and No. 4 Joachim Lee Seong-jin (1994.8~to the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and spaces

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church was held on June 1985 and the church (341 pyeong) and the rectory (76 pyeong) were completed on December 1987. The convent (34 pyeong) was built on October 1989, and the ‘House of Sharing’ (21 pyeong) was built on March 1993.

Related places and people

• Chimsan Church and Sangyeok Church: On May 1986 Seongbuk Parish was separated and established from these parishes (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). Sangyeok Church transferred the registers of 72 households and 245 faithful in the Sangyeok-1-dong area.
• Jeong Wol-saeng (Agnes): On August 1983 she donated the present church site of 501 pyeong (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Dongjeong Marian Society: It is the religious congregation invited by the parish on June 1986 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Seongbuk-dong Parish” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Separation and establishment from Chimsan and Sangyeok Parishes in 1986, donation of the site and completion of the church, annex buildings, statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3374
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Address Book “Seongbuk” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Establishment date 1986.05.23, patron St. Agnes Kim Hyo-ju, number of faithful, religious congregation, jurisdictional area.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000842&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, parish information “Seongbuk”. Date of establishment May 23, 1986.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=60&premenu&srl=church_search