Mosang Church

Overview

Mosan Church is a church affiliated with the Diocese of Daejeon, located in Gongsu-ri, Baebang-eup, Asan, Chungcheongnam-do. In August 1985, the Mosan Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Onyang Parish was elevated to a parish and established, and according to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia its patron is Saint Francis. In January 2008 Baebang Church was separated from this parish, and in 2010 Jangjae Church was separated.

History

〔Formation of the Mission Chapel〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that a faith community began to form as several scattered Catholic families in the Mosan area gathered at Onggijeom, the District 6 area of Gongsu-ri in what is now Baebang-myeon, around the Liberation in 8-15, and that it was established in May 1950 as the Mosan Catholic mission chapel under Onyang Parish. At first the mission chapel rites had to be held in private homes, but even after the 6-25 War ended, believers voluntarily raised construction funds and prepared a mission chapel hall here where Onggijeom stood in August 1956.

Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia explains that in the late Joseon period of persecution there were several Catholic villages along the Geumbuk mountain range near Naepo, and among them the Namgol Catholic village at the foot of Taehwasan became the Namgol Catholic mission chapel after the 1890s. The Gongsu-ri Catholic mission chapel that arose during the Japanese occupation, starting in 1917, became the Mosan Catholic mission chapel after Liberation; at first it belonged to Gongju Church, then in 1939 it came under Cheonan Parish, and from 1948 it belonged to Onyang Church, one of 13 Catholic mission chapels of Onyang Parish which had been separated from Gongseri Parish. After the Liberation in 1945, the Garwol Catholic mission chapel was created and the 'Gongsu-ri Catholic mission chapel' came to be called the 'Mosan Catholic mission chapel', and the Mosan Catholic mission chapel, briefly closed during the 6-25 War, reopened in 1951. At that time, without a hall building, rites were generally held at the house of the Catholic mission chapel president, and the parish priest visited to celebrate Mass only during the spring and autumn public penitential rites. In September 1957 Yu Jeong-jae (Ludovico), who operated a large onggi earthenware factory in Gongsu-ri, donated land of 100 pyeong (331 square meters) and believers contributed voluntary labor to newly build a hall of 25 pyeong (83 square meters). At this time the Galsan, Maegok [Maenggol] and Hosan Catholic mission chapels in Tangjeong-myeon were also developing together on a small scale, and to Maegok Catholic mission chapel in 1968 a total of 3 sisters of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres were dispatched and carried out evangelization for 1 years.

〔Preparation for Elevation to Parish〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as church strength kept growing, a church construction promotion committee was formed in 1976 and the following year purchased 519 pyeong of land at San 4 in Gongsu-ri, but the expected elevation to parish did not immediately follow. After reorganization including the reform of the promotion committee on November 25, 1984, it was elevated to a parish the following year. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that in May 1977 Anselmo Yu Jae-sik, pastor of Onyang Parish, purchased 1,716 square meters of land at 286-26 in Gongsu-ri, Baebang-myeon, with the proceeds from selling land around Onyang Church, and thereafter believers of the Mosan Catholic mission chapel, centered on pastoral council president Han Deuk-yong, raised funds for elevation to parish and construction of a church building. In 1984, Joseph Kyeong Gap-ryong, Bishop of the Diocese of Daejeon, pastorally visited Onyang Church and considered a plan to separate Onyang Yonghwa-dong Church and Mosan Church at the same time.

〔Establishment of the Parish〕 The Mosan Catholic mission chapel was separated from Onyang Parish, now in Oncheon-dong, Asan, in August 1985 and elevated to a parish; the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the date as August 29. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that it was elevated to a parish having jurisdiction over 3 Catholic mission chapels in the Tangjeong-myeon area, and names the founder as Bishop Joseph Kyeong Gap-ryong, Bishop of the Diocese of Daejeon. The first pastor was Michael Yi Eun-jin.

〔New Construction of the Church Building〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that from the early 1980s large kiln factories moved in near the church land purchased earlier, making the site unsuitable as a parish seat, so the land was sold in 1985. Afterwards 539 pyeong of land at the present parish seat was purchased, construction of a new building began on April 5, 1987, and the following year on March 31 it moved into the church having only completed the completion inspection of the 1-story church. From November of that year a 2-phase construction was started, and on January 19, 1990 a church building with total floor area of 391 pyeong, with 2 above-ground stories and 1 basement story, was completed, and the blessing ceremony was held on April 5. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records, with completion dates differing by source, that the first pastor Michael Yi Eun-jin leased a row house near the church for use as a rectory while purchasing land at 99-1 in Gongsu-ri, newly built a new sanctuary and rectory in 1 phase in March 1988, held a bazaar in April 1989 to raise construction funds, began an extension construction of 2 stories, and completed the present church in April 1991. In 2000 a convent was added on the 2 floor of the rectory, where a total of 6 sisters of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Clare served in mission until 2015.

〔Branching and Activities〕 Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that in 1967 Jerome Yu Byeong-gi, the 3 son of Catholic mission chapel president Yu Deok-seong at the time, was ordained a priest, that the Galsan Catholic mission chapel hall was newly built in July 1970 and the Maegok Catholic mission chapel hall in May 1981, and that the Galsan Catholic mission chapel hall was expanded in 1997. As the area developed, with Hoseo University established in Sechul-ri in 1989, apartment complexes built from the 1990s, the Samsung Electronics Onyang Factory moving in, and Cheonan-Asan Station opening in 2004, the population of Baebang-myeon surged and it was raised to Baebang-eup in 2009. The number of believers also grew, so in January 2008 Baebang Church was newly established in Buksu-ri and separated, and in 2010 Jangjae Church was newly established in the Cheonan-Asan Station new town and separated. Centered on devotional associations such as the Saint Peter Association, Daegeon Association, Marian Association and Saint Anna Association, evangelization and service activities were carried out, and on that basis 2 religious and 1 priests were produced. In 2010, marking the 25 anniversary of the parish founding, the 《History of the Mosan Catholic Church》 was compiled. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that, although most believers are small merchants so the financial base is weak and the floating population ratio is high, causing pastoral difficulties, it focuses on revitalizing the parish by supporting youth and middle-aged activities as much as possible.

〔Church Strength and Successive Pastors〕 The church statistics recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 835 in 1985, 719 in 1989, 980 in 1992, and 1,176 in 1994, and the jurisdictional area is all of Gongsu-ri and Buksu-ri and parts of Jangjae-ri, Segyo-ri and Hyudae-ri. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that the number of believers on the parish register during the Gongsu-ri Catholic mission chapel era was 50-60 around 1920, over 90 in the 1950s, over 120 in 1960, over 250 in the 1970s, over 400 in the 1980s, over 1,400 in 1999, over 1,300 in 2010, and over 1,700 as of 2018, over 540 attending Sunday Mass. The successive pastors are, per Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia: the 1 pastor Michael Yi Eun-jin (1985-), the 2 pastor Mariano Choe Byeong-seok (1991-), the 3 pastor Antonio Yeo Jun-gu (1993-), the 4 pastor Augustine Park Su-beom (1999-), the 5 pastor Joseph Park Min-gyun (2004-), the 6 pastor Francis Kim Su-gyeom (2009-), the 7 pastor Peter Song U-jin (2014-2018), and the 8 pastor Matthew Nam Dae-hyeon (as of 2019).

Related Places and People

• Onyang Church: the mother parish to which the Mosan Catholic mission chapel had belonged from 1948. In August 1985 Mosan Parish was separated from Onyang Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Baebang Church and Jangjae Church: churches separated from Mosan Church respectively in January 2008 and in 2010 (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Namgol Catholic village and Namgol Catholic mission chapel: a Catholic village in Sechul-ri, Baebang-eup, at the foot of Taehwasan, which became a Catholic mission chapel after the 1890s (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Galsan, Maegok and Hosan Catholic mission chapels: small Catholic mission chapels in Tangjeong-myeon. At the time of elevation Mosan Church had jurisdiction over 3 Catholic mission chapels in the Tangjeong-myeon area (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia 'Mosan Parish' (Vol. 4). Elevation from the Mosan Catholic mission chapel under Onyang Parish on August 29, 1985, formation of the Catholic mission chapel, preparation for elevation to parish, new construction of the church building, church strength, jurisdictional area, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2029
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia 'Mosan Church'. Changes of the Gongsu-ri and Mosan Catholic mission chapels, elevation to parish in August 1985, construction of the new sanctuary, branchings in 2008 and 2010, activities and church strength, successive pastors.
   https://www.grandculture.net/asan/toc/GC07101460