Wonpyeong Church

Overview

Wonpyeong Church is a church in Wonpyeong-dong, Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. On December 1956, it was elevated from the Gumi Catholic mission chapel to a parish and established as Gumi Parish, and on September 1979, when Sinpyeong Parish was separated, it was renamed Wonpyeong Parish. Its patron is Saint Benedict (Saint Benedict).

History

〔Background of establishment〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that in 1952, when the Benedictine monastery settled in Waegwan and came to oversee the Seonsan and Gumi area, with the support of Monsignor Bitterli (T. Bitterli, Lee Seong-do) of the same monastery, it purchased the land at the parish site, which was under the jurisdiction of the Gumi Catholic mission chapel. On December 1956, it built a church (with a building area of 51 pyeong, the building then used as the main building of Bundo Kindergarten) and shortly afterwards it was elevated to Gumi Parish.

〔Elevation to parish and renaming〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the parish was established on December 30, 1956, and on September 26, 1979, as Sinpyeong Parish was separated, its name was changed to Wonpyeong Parish. The establishment date December 30, 1956 is also listed in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory and in the Archdiocese of Daegu parish information. At first, Assistant Priest Jeong Hwan-guk (Aloysius) of Waegwan Parish celebrated Mass every week, and in 1957, Father Fisher of Jeomchon Parish took office as the first pastor.

〔Pastoral work of the early pastors〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the 2 pastor, Father Lee Gyeong-u, focused on evangelizing Seonsan-eup, provided chapel buildings in Seonsan, Goa and Bonghan and pioneered the Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel, and that the 3 pastor, Father No Gyu-chae, established Catholic mission chapels in Dogae, Oeye and Imeun and opened the way to higher education for more than 10 children who could not attend middle school. The 5 pastor, Father Lee Seok-jin, focused on rural development, and on October 1966 separated the Catholic Farmers Association from the Catholic Labor Youth Association and brought it in, opened the Bundo poultry farm and prepared a button mushroom farm through cooperative farming, founded a credit cooperative (later Bundo Credit Union) and a rural development association, and operated the Hosucheon Shingo Higher Civic School for about 3 years. The 6 pastor, Father Lee Dong-sik, devoted himself to ministry for factory workers as the area was urbanized and industrialized with the creation of the Gumi Industrial Complex.

〔After the 1980s〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 8 pastor, Father Seok Chan-gwi, expanded the Legion of Mary organization, opened a 40-week Bible meeting and ran a catechism class for solitary faithful. The 9 pastor, Father Ham Jeong-tae, nurtured the Sunday school, held faith lectures and promoted the Marriage Encounter movement (M.E.). The 10 pastor, Father Lee Hyeong-u, devoted himself to family ministry and resolved marriage impediments for more than 20 couples, but on January 1986 the Waegwan vicariate was returned to the Archdiocese of Daegu, so he was transferred soon after taking office. The 11 pastor, Father Heo Yeon-gu, devoted himself to family ministry through couples’ weekend retreats, monthly family Masses and family mountain schools, and as part of the 30 anniversary of the parish establishment, started a scholarship program and published the 《Wonpyeong 30-Year History》. On February 1995, the Catholic Cultural Center was completed and was used for Bible schools, social welfare and fellowship gatherings of parishes.

〔Separated parishes〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that Hyeonggok Parish on December 1990 and Doryang Parish on September 1996 were separated from Wonpyeong Parish. Earlier, Sinpyeong Parish had been separated on September 1979.

〔Jurisdiction and statistics〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the jurisdiction as all of Wonpyeong 1, 2 and 3-dong, Wonnam-dong, Namtong-dong and Seonju-dong, plus parts of Songjeong-dong and Apo-eup, Gimcheon-si, and gives the number of faithful as 1,706 in 1968, 2,000 in 1974, 2,140 in 1981, 3,282 in 1986, 4,389 in 1991, 3,273 in 1997, and 3,621 in 2000. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory lists the jurisdiction as all of Wonpyeong-dong, Songjeong-dong, Namtong-dong, Sujeom-dong and Seongi-dong in Gumi-si, the number of faithful as 3,290, the serving religious congregation as the Inbo Sisters of the Holy Eucharist, and states that there is no Catholic mission chapel.

〔Successive pastors〕 The successive priests listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first, Fisher (G. Fisher) Gerardo (1957.3–7), the 2 Lee Gyeong-u Gabriel (1957.7–1960.4), the 3 No Gyu-chae Augustine (1960.4–1964.6), the 4 Lee Dong-ho Placid (1964.6–1965.5), the 5 Lee Seok-jin Gregory (1965.5–1970.6), the 6 Lee Dong-sik Benedict (1970.6–1980.2), the 7 Fütterer (M. Fütterer, Gwak Mi-geol) Michael (1980.2–1981.9), the 8 Seok Chan-gwi Stephen (1981.9–1984.1), the 9 Ham Jeong-tae Cassian (1984.1–1985.10), the 10 Lee Hyeong-u Simon (1985.10–1986.1), the 11 Heo Yeon-gu Moses (1986.1–1991.3), the 12 Kim Yeong-ok John (1991.3–1995.2), the 13 Gwak Gil-u Peter (1995.2–1998.8), and the 14 Jo Seong-taek John (1998.8–to the time of the encyclopedia’s compilation).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first church built on December 1956, with a building area of 51 pyeong, was being used as the main building of Bundo Kindergarten at the time of the encyclopedia’s compilation.

Related Places and People

• Gumi Catholic mission chapel and Gumi Parish: The present parish was built on land under the jurisdiction of the Gumi Catholic mission chapel, and was first elevated and established as Gumi Parish, then renamed Wonpyeong Parish in 1979 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Waegwan Benedictine Monastery: In 1952, it settled in Waegwan and oversaw the Seonsan and Gumi area, and Monsignor Bitterli supported the purchase of the parish land (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Sinpyeong, Hyeonggok and Doryang Parishes: They were separated from Wonpyeong Parish on September 1979, December 1990 and September 1996 respectively (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Haepyeong Catholic mission chapel: It was pioneered by the 2 pastor, Father Lee Gyeong-u (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Wonpyeong Parish” (Vol. 9, entry belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu). Establishment on December 30, 1956 and renaming in 1979, pastoral work of successive pastors, separated parishes, church statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4820
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Wonpyeong” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Foundation date 1956.12.30, patron Saint Benedict, number of faithful, religious congregation, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000872&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Archdiocese of Daegu, parish information “Wonpyeong”. Date of establishment December 30, 1956.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=104&premenu&srl=church_search