Gyuam Catholic Church

Overview

Gyuram Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon, located in Oe-ri, Gyuam-myeon, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. As a parish separated and established from Geumsari Parish, it was established in 1955 and its patron saint is St. Joseph. The Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia explains that it was established according to the will of Father Joseph Molimard (Joseph Molimard), pastor of Geumsari Parish, who was kidnapped and killed during the 6·25 War.

History

〔Mission Chapel Period〕 The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism records that Gyuam Parish started as the Gyuam Catholic mission chapel under Geumsari Parish in 1925, centered on 20 believers, and was established as a parish in 1955. At that time, within Geumsari Parish there were Catholic mission chapels older than Gyuam, such as Nakjiri and Hapgok, but Gyuam became a parish before them because it stood at a transportation hub. At the time of parish establishment, its jurisdiction covered 6 townships in Buyeo-gun, including Gyuam-myeon, Buyeo-myeon, Eunsan-myeon, Jangam-myeon, Imcheon-myeon and Yanghwa-myeon, and, in Cheongyang-gun, Sayang-myeon and Cheongyang-myeon (now Cheongyang-eup) under the Geumjeong mission chapel, and Jeokgok-myeon (now Jangpyeong-myeon) and Cheongnam-myeon under the Nakjiri mission chapel.

〔Background of Foundation〕 The Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia records that from the 20 century, mountain mission villages gradually moved to flat and urban areas, so the need for a new church in Gyuam-myeon and Buyeo-eup arose, and in 1950 the 6·25 War broke out, and Father Joseph Molimard (Joseph Molimard), pastor of Geumsari Parish, was kidnapped by North Korean forces and killed. Father Molimard left a will asking that his private property be added to church construction, and Gyuam Church was founded in accordance with that will, and its patron was fixed as Saint Joseph after Father Molimard’s name.

〔Establishment as Parish〕 According to the Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia, in March 1955 the Catholic Church received solely a closed branch school of Gyuam Elementary School. It cleared land of about 5,400 m² and repaired a school building of about 230 m² as a church, and Bishop Larribeau, head of the Daejeon vicariate, blessed the repaired church on September 21, 1955 and in December 1955 established Gyuam Parish and transferred Father Kim Yeong-hwan, then pastor of Geumsari Parish, to Gyuam Parish. The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism records that it was separated and established from Geumsari Parish on September 21, 1955. The parish’s first church building had been used as a Japanese elementary school building in the Japanese occupation period and after liberation was a building of Gyuam National School that was purchased and remodeled (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).

〔Relief Work and St. Joseph Clinic〕 According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, from parish establishment until the early 1960s it carried out relief work with support from the Catholic Relief Committee, in which the then pastor Father Kim Yeong-hwan (Thaddeus) played a large part. In 1965 it organized 170 refugee households, planted mulberry trees on riverside land of about 6,611.57 m² and started sericulture, but closed in 1968 because of depression in the sericulture industry. In the tenure of Father Kim Jong-guk (Barnabas) also, after flood damage in the Eunsan district, it received a donation of 55 ten thousand won from the Korean Catholic Young Workers (J.O.C.) in West Germany and had the Hapgok mission chapel raise calves and the Nakjiri mission chapel raise goats, but all failed. The Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia records that St. Joseph Clinic was opened in 1957, that this clinic on the premises was transferred to the Diocese of Daejeon from 1966, and that in 1970 it was newly built and moved to Gua-ri, Buyeo-eup, renamed Saint Joseph Hospital, and operated until 2019. From 1963 for 2 years it also led embankment work to prevent river flooding with support from American Catholic Relief Services. The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism records that from July 1957 to November 1960 sisters of the Sisters of Sacred Music served, from 1962 to August 1975 sisters of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus served, and from November 1990 a branch of the Sisters of Divine Providence was opened.

〔Division and Mission Chapels〕 According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, during 40 years after foundation this parish separated 2 mission chapels as parishes. The Buyeo mission chapel purchased land of 2,399.99 m² at 272 in Dongnam-ri, Buyeo-eup in 1959 and newly built a mission hall with floor area of 155.37 m², then was elevated and separated as a parish in 1973 (the Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia records that in 1972 the Buyeo mission chapel was elevated and separated as a parish), and the Geumjeong mission chapel purchased a house in Cheongyang town in 1962 and used it as a mission hall, then was elevated as Cheongyang Parish in 1964. In 1975 it purchased a field of 396.69 m² at 83-1 in Hapgok-ri, Jangam-myeon and prepared a mission hall with floor area of 66.11 m² at a construction cost of 400 ten thousand won, and in 1980 it purchased a field of 1,943.80 m² at 80-1 in Eunsan-ri, Eunsan-myeon and built a hall with floor area of 82.64 m².

〔New Church Building〕 The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism records that in 1972 it newly built a church with building area of 409.91 m², and the cost was covered by a diocesan subsidy of 250 ten thousand won, parish self-payment of 300 ten thousand won, and proceeds from sale of real estate. The Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia records that in 1972 it newly built a church in a modern style, and in April 2011, after demolishing the existing church and buildings, it built a new church with an education hall and convenience facilities (detailed information lists new church construction on May 30, 2011). On the cornerstone of the new church is engraved the phrase honoring the will of Father Joseph E. J. Molimard, and the new church won the Chungcheongnam-do Excellent Architecture Award in November 2011.

〔Church Strength and Successive Pastors〕 The church strength recorded by the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism is 295 people in 1955, 1,944 people in 1963, 2,329 people in 1980, 1,206 people in 1988, and 1,308 people in 1993. The Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia records that at the new parish foundation in 1955 the number of believers transferred from Geumsari Parish was 602, that it increased to 1,758 by 1972, just before Buyeo Parish was separated, and that it gradually decreased after the 1980s, with as of 2022 1,076 members belonging, so the statistics of the two sources differ. The successive priests in the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism are the 1st Kim Yeong-hwan Thaddeus (1955.12–1966.3), the 2 pastor Olivier John (Jean Olivier, O Il-bok) (1966.3–1969.9), the 3 pastor Kim Jong-guk Barnabas (1969.9–1973.1), the 4 pastor An Mun-gi Francis (1973.1–1975.10), the 5 pastor Gu Ja-ryun Pius (1975.10–1977.9), the 6 pastor Crinquand John (Jean Crinquand, Kang Jin-su) (1977.9–1982.9), the 7 pastor U Hui-su Balthasar (1982.9–1986.3), the 8 pastor Poncet Gilbert (Gilbert Poncet, Seo Bong-se) (1986.3–1991.4), the 9 pastor Yun Yeo-hong Paul (1991.4–1992.10), the 10 pastor Kim In-su Stephen (1993.1–1994.8), and the 11 pastor Yu Yun-sik Simon (1994.8–). Its jurisdiction is part of Gyuam-myeon, Eunsan-myeon, Jangam-myeon and Imcheon-myeon in Buyeo-gun, and Jangpyeong-myeon and Cheongnam-myeon in Cheongyang-gun (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).

Related Places and People

• Geumsari Church: the mother parish to which the Gyuam mission chapel belonged. Gyuam Church was founded according to the will of Father Molimard, pastor of Geumsari Parish (Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia).
• Buyeo Church: the church formed when the Buyeo mission chapel of Gyuam Parish was elevated and separated as a parish (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia).
• Cheongyang Church: the church formed when the Geumjeong mission chapel of Gyuam Parish was elevated as a parish in 1964 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism “Gyuram Parish” (Vol. 2). Foundation in 1955, patron St. Joseph, mission-chapel period and foundation, relief work, divisions, church strength, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/709
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Buyeo Culture Encyclopedia “Gyuram Church”. Background of foundation according to Father Molimard’s will, blessing and parish establishment in 1955, St. Joseph Clinic, new church in 2011, church strength.
   https://www.grandculture.net/buyeo/toc/GC09001174