Cheonan Sinbu-dong Church

Overview

Sinbudong Church is a church in Sinbu-dong, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon. October 1977 it was separated from Cheonan Parish (present Oryong-dong Parish) and established as Seonghwang-dong Parish, then in 2005 it moved to Sinbu-dong and changed its name to Sinbu-dong Parish, and October 18, 2014 it held the blessing ceremony for the new church. In 1985 it separated Bongmyeong-dong Parish.

History

[Background of the separation] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Cheonan Parish felt the need for separation as the city expanded in the 1970s and the faithful grew to more than 4,000. The Diocese of Daejeon decided to use the old church of Cheonan Parish, located on the grounds of the Blessed Girls Middle and High School, as the church of the new parish, and October 1977 separated the parish and appointed Father John Jeong Yong-taek as the first pastor. The site of this old church was part of a total 33,619.83㎡ of woodland purchased March 1933 when Cheonan Parish was a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Anseong Parish (present Gupo-dong Parish), and in 1941 a church (297.52㎡) was built there. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia states that the Cheonan Catholic Church, which had been established in Seonghwang-dong in 1939, moved to Oryong-dong in 1957, and October 1977 a new parish was established in the vacant Seonghwang-dong and called the Seonghwang-dong Catholic Church.

[Date of establishment and jurisdiction] Sources give different dates for the establishment. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that it was separated and established from Cheonan Parish October 18, 1977, the Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia gives the establishment as October 1977, and the Catholic Peace Newspaper brief history (2014) gives the parish establishment date as October 5, 1977. The jurisdiction at the time of establishment covered all of Seonghwang-dong, Munhwa-dong, Wonseong 1-dong, Sinbu-dong, Anseo-dong, Budae-dong and Sindang-dong, and part of Seonggeo-eup. As for the patron, the encyclopedia gives Saint Simbelt, while the Peace Newspaper brief history gives the Body and Blood of Jesus.

[Construction and blessing of the Seonghwang-dong church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Jeong Yong-taek began construction of the church at the parish site June 1978, completed it December of the same year, and the following year May 18 held the blessing ceremony officiated by Bishop Peter Hwang Min-seong. The Culture Encyclopedia gives the blessing ceremony as May 28, 1979. This church, with a total floor area of 757.02㎡, had a priests residence, convent, catechism rooms and offices on the 1 floor, and the church and a small chapel on the 2 floor, and when the convent was completed a branch house of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs was established August 1979 (encyclopedia).

[Projects of successive pastors] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2th pastor, Father Philip Kim Yeong-gon, built a meeting room (99.17㎡) December 1986 and erected the statue of the parish patron saint and the statue of the Virgin Mary, as well as the martyrdom monument for Father D. Polly, the 6th pastor of Cheonan Oryong-dong Parish who died during the Korean War, and thereafter focused on mission and social pastoral care, with the invitation of catechumens by members of the Legion of Mary and the sending of Church publications to lapsed Catholics standing out, and 10% of the total budget was set aside as a social welfare fund to assist youth heads of households and neighbors stricken by disaster. The 4th pastor, Father Achilleo Jeong Ji-pung, built a Eucharistic adoration room December 1995 and October 1997 held an all-parishioners athletic meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the parish establishment. The 5th pastor, Father Paul Kim Dong-eok, expanded the priests residence, the large catechism room and offices April 1998 and, with the blessing by Bishop Joseph Gyeong Gap-ryong May 2000, began construction of an education hall (2 stories, 146 pyeong), completed October. The 6th pastor, Father Thaddeus Go Yeong-hwan, newly built a priests residence on the rooftop of the education hall May 2002 and October offered Mass to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the parish establishment. The Culture Encyclopedia states that the memorial monument commemorating Father Polly was erected August 17, 1980.

[Move to Sinbu-dong and the new church] According to the Culture Encyclopedia, as the premises were narrow and there was a need to move to a larger place with convenient transportation, in 2005 it moved to Sinbu-dong and changed its name to Sinbu-dong Catholic Church, and September 29 celebrated the first Mass. As of 2013, the old Seonghwang-dong church building was in use as the Daejeon provincial house convent of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs. The Catholic Peace Newspaper brief history reports that the Sinbu-dong Parish held the blessing ceremony for the new church at 866 Cheonan-daero October 18, 2014, officiated by Diocesan Bishop Yu Heung-sik. The Culture Encyclopedia describes the Sinbu-dong Catholic Church as a Catholic church established in Sinbu-dong, the busiest district in Cheonan.

[Church statistics and successive priests] The church statistics given by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 1,994 persons in 1977, 1,892 persons in 1981, 1,756 persons in 1986, 2,948 persons in 1991, 3,347 persons in 1996, and 2,926 persons in 2001. The successive priests are the first John Jeong Yong-taek (1977.10-1982.9), the 2th Philip Kim Yeong-gon (1982.9-1987.8), the 3th John Kim Gi-ryong (1987.8-1992.8), the 4th Achilleo Jeong Ji-pung (1992.8-1998.2), the 5th Paul Kim Dong-eok (1998.2-2002.1), and the 6th Thaddeus Go Yeong-hwan (2002.1-present). Here present means the time of writing of the encyclopedia. The jurisdiction at the time of writing given by the Culture Encyclopedia is Sinbu-dong, Seonghwang-dong, Munhwa-dong, Anseo-dong, Yuryang-dong and Wonseong-dong, and part of Seonggeo-eup, with a total of 2,634 faithful. The principal organizations are the pastoral council, district and small-group meetings, the Legion of Mary, Ultreya, the Hasang Association, the Joseph Association, the Anna Association, the Milal Association and the youth association, and the pastoral ministers are 1 pastor, 1 assistant priests and 2 evangelizing sisters.

Related Places and People

• Cheonan Oryong-dong Parish (former Cheonan Parish): the mother parish that separated Sinbu-dong Parish (Seonghwang-dong Parish). The old church of Cheonan Parish was used as the church of the newly established parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Cheonan Bongmyeong-dong Parish: separated by Sinbu-dong Parish (then Seonghwang-dong Parish) February 1985 (Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Martyrdom monument for Father D. Polly: a monument commemorating the 6th pastor of Cheonan Oryong-dong Parish, who died during the Korean War; the encyclopedia states that it was erected by the 2th pastor, Father Philip Kim Yeong-gon, while the Culture Encyclopedia states that it was erected August 17, 1980.
• Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs: a branch house was established in the Seonghwang-dong Parish convent August 1979 (encyclopedia), and as of 2013 the old Seonghwang-dong church building is used as the Daejeon provincial house convent of this congregation (Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Cheonan Seonghwang-dong Parish (volume 10). Background of the separation in 1977 and the old church site, blessing of the church in 1979, projects of successive pastors, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5911
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia, Sinbu-dong Catholic Church. Establishment and blessing of the Seonghwang-dong Parish, memorial monument for Father Polly, separation of Bongmyeong-dong, move to Sinbu-dong and renaming in 2005, jurisdiction and number of faithful.
   https://www.grandculture.net/cheonan/toc/GC04501551
3. Catholic Peace Broadcasting and Peace Newspaper, brief history of the day, Blessing ceremony of the new church building of Sinbu-dong Parish in the Diocese of Daejeon. Blessing of the new church October 18, 2014, parish establishment date October 5, 1977, patron.
   https://www-old.cpbc.co.kr/CMS/catholic/view_sosa.php?ID=3022&gotoPage=