Sinam Catholic Church

Overview

Sinam Church is a church in Sinam-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. Originating in the 1880s from the Dongsang (Sinam) Catholic mission chapel at Soran-gol, it became a quasi-parish in 1933 and was elevated to a parish on December 20, 1945, with Our Lady of Fatima as patron. It spun off parishes including Daehyeon, Hyomok and Keungogae, and the present church building was newly built in October 1989.

History

[Dongsang Mission Chapel] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it is not certain when a mission chapel was established in the Sinam area, but since the Dongsang (Sinam) mission chapel appears in the church statistics compiled in 1887 by Robert (A. P. Robert, Kim Borok), first pastor of Daegu Parish, a Catholic community is believed to have formed in this area at least by the early 1880s. In 1887, 30 Catholics of the Dongsang mission chapel held mission worship at the house of Kim Sang-yeon (Paul), the mission-chapel president in Soran-gol (now Sinam-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu), and as numbers grew steadily they reached about 100 by around 1900. In 1904 the mission chapel moved to Singi-ri, Dongsang-myeon (now 749 and 750, Sinam-dong), and in 1923 a mission hall of about 30 pyeong was built and blessed by Bishop Demange (F. Demange, An Sehwa), with a bell tower erected and the hall remodeled in 1933. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia also records that it began with mission worship at the house of Kim Sang-yeon, president of the Soran-gol mission chapel, in the 1880s, then under Daegu Parish, and that it moved from Soran-gol to Singi-ri in 1904 and built the mission hall in 1923, blessed by Bishop Demange.

[Quasi-parish] According to the encyclopedia, on April 1933 the Sinam mission chapel under Daegu Parish was raised to a quasi-parish, with an assistant priest of Daegu Parish staying here several days each month for ministry. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that it became a quasi-parish in April 1933 and Father Kang Chan-hyeong (Pascal) took office as first priest.

[Elevation to Parish and New Church Construction] According to the encyclopedia, on December 20, 1945 it was raised from a quasi-parish to a parish, with Father Kang Chan-hyeong becoming first pastor, and as membership surged after elevation, Father Kang planned a move to the present church site. Construction of a new church began on July 1949, but was halted the following year by the Korean War and was completed in 1951 under the 4th pastor, Father Kim Dong-uk. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia also writes that after parish elevation a site was sought and relocation planned, construction began in 1949 but was interrupted by the 6-25 War and completed belatedly in 1951, recording this as the ‘Sinam Church relocation’ (1951). The founding (parish elevation) date December 20, 1945 also appears in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea address book and the Archdiocese of Daegu parish information.

[1950s-60s] According to the encyclopedia, a hall was built under the 5th pastor, Father Lee Gyeong-u, and the 6th pastor, Father Im Hwa-gil, newly built the 2-story rectory and then new halls for the Banya-wol and Dongchon mission chapels, opening Sinam Kindergarten (now Fatima Kindergarten) in 1960. Under the 9th pastor, Father Roumegoux, on June 1965 the old hall was demolished and a 3-story hall built in its place, providing kindergarten, catechism rooms and a library, and the night school Sinseong Academy was opened.

[Parishes Spun Off] According to the encyclopedia, under the 10th pastor, Father Park Chang-su, on January 15, 1970 when Sincheon-dong (now Blessed) Parish was separated and established from Samdeok-dong Parish, 200 households were transferred from Sinam-dong Parish. The 12th pastor, Father Kim Gyeong-sik, remodeled the church and rectory immediately after taking office and separated Daehyeon-dong Parish and Hyomok-dong Parish respectively on July 5, 1977, erecting a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the following year and newly building a convent. Under the 13th pastor, Father Jeong Hak-mo, on November 30, 1981 Keungogae Parish was separated, transferring part of Sinam 4-dong.

[Present Church and Afterward] According to the encyclopedia, the 14nd pastor, Father Park Do-sik, newly built a church with total floor area of 608 pyeong on October 1989, and in 1992 demolished the aged convent and rebuilt it on a 50-pyeong scale. The 17th pastor, Father Lee Yong-ho, reorganized districts and groups and conducted various formation programs to revitalize parish small communities, and the 18th pastor, Father Park Byeong-gi, who took office on August 1996, devoted himself to social welfare, providing lunch to elderly people 1 times a month and conducting a one-hundred-week Bible reading program so parishioners would make Bible reading part of daily life. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia also writes that the present church building was newly built in October 1989 under the 14th pastor, Father Park Do-sik.

[Present Status and Assessment] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia describes, at the time of writing, 1 pastor, 1 assistant priest, a women’s religious institute, and about 2,800 registered Catholics, with pastoral council, district council and lay apostolate organizations, and notes that the social welfare group makes kimchi and each district carries out volunteer activities. The same source evaluates Sinam Church as a place with more than 100 years of history in Dong-gu, Daegu, needed for research on modern and contemporary Korean Catholicism, and needed for studying the spread of Catholicism in the Dong-gu area and the status and role of Catholicism in the local community from the 1880s to the 2010s.

[Church Statistics and Successive Pastors] Church figures recorded in the encyclopedia are 226 in 1956, 3,619 in 1964, 3,800 in 1972, 5,389 in 1976, 4,801 in 1981, 6,262 in 1986, 7,978 in 1993, and 7,657 in 1999. Successive priests are first Kang Chan-hyeong Pascal (1945.12-1947.6), 2th Kim Yeong-ho Melchior (1947.6-1950.11), 3th Kwon Yeong-jo Marco (1950.11-1951.9), 4th Kim Dong-uk Mattia (1951.9-1955.5), 5rd Lee Gyeong-u Gabriel (1955.5-1956), 6th Im Hwa-gil Andrea (1956-1961.1), 7th Bideau (J. Bideau) John (1961.1-1962.4), 8nd Durana (A. Durana, Na Seong-do) Amel (1962.4-1964.2), 9th Roumegoux (H. Roumegoux, Hwang Gyo-in) Henrico (1964.2-1969.8), 10th Park Chang-su John (1969.8-1971.11), 11th Kim Gwang-rok Peter (1971.11-1976.3), 12th Kim Gyeong-sik Bonifacio (1976.3-1980.5), 13th Jeong Hak-mo Luka (1980.5-1983.7), interim Lee Jong-heung Grisando (1983.7-8), 14nd Park Do-sik Dominico (1983.8-1990.2), 15th Lee Seong-u Achillo (1990.2-1993.10), 16th Jeon Ju-won Paul (1993.10-1995.10), 17st Lee Yong-ho Gabriel (1995.10-1996.8), and 18th Park Byeong-gi Benedetto (1996.8-time of writing). The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea address book lists the women’s institute as the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, the number of mission chapels as 0, and the jurisdiction as all of Sinam 1- and 3-dong and part of Sinam 4-dong.

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, in 1923 a hall of about 30 pyeong was built on the Singi-ri mission-chapel site, with a bell tower erected and the hall remodeled in 1933. After the church begun on July 1949 and completed in 1951, the present church is the building newly built on October 1989 with total floor area of 608 pyeong. On June 1965 a 3-story hall was built on the old hall site, providing kindergarten, catechism rooms and a library. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia gives the church address as Sinam-dong 603-10.

Related Places and People

• Daegu Parish (Gyesan-dong Parish, Gyesan Cathedral): the parish to which the Sinam mission chapel belonged (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Daehyeon Parish, Hyomok Parish and Keungogae Parish: separated from Sinam-dong Parish on July 5, 1977 (Daehyeon and Hyomok) and November 30, 1981 (Keungogae) respectively (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Sincheon-dong (now Blessed) Parish: when it was separated and established from Samdeok-dong Parish on January 15, 1970, 200 households were transferred from Sinam-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Robert (Kim Borok): the Dongsang (Sinam) mission chapel appears in the church statistics compiled in 1887 as first pastor of Daegu Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Banya-wol Mission Chapel and Dongchon Mission Chapel: halls were newly built under the 6th pastor, Father Im Hwa-gil (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Sinam-dong Parish” (Vol. 8). Dongsang mission-chapel and quasi-parish period, parish founding in 1945, church completion in 1951, spun-off parishes, church rebuilding in 1989, church statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3936
2. The Academy of Korean Studies, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia “Sinam Church”. Mission-chapel beginnings, relocation in 1904, hall in 1923, quasi-parish in 1933, parish elevation in 1945, completion in 1951, present building in 1989, present status and significance.
   https://www.grandculture.net/daegu/toc/GC40020975
3. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Address Book “Sinam” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Founding date 1945.12.20, patron Our Lady of Fatima, women’s institute, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000857&gubn2=all&char=all
4. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Sinam Church”. Founding date December 20, 1945, patron Our Lady of Fatima.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=67&premenu&srl=church_search