Onyang Catholic Church

Overview

Onyang Church is a Catholic church in Gwongok-dong, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, belonging to the Daejeon Diocese. Originating from the Bangchuk-ri Catholic mission chapel established in March 1920 under the jurisdiction of Gongse-ri Parish, it was elevated to Onyang Parish in July 1948. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, its patron is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the present new church building began construction in March 2017 and was completed in October 2018.

History

〔Bangchuk-ri Catholic Mission Chapel〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that in the area where Onyang Parish now stands, there was originally the Bangchuk-ri Catholic mission chapel belonging to Gongse-ri Parish. This mission chapel was established in March 1920 with about five households of believers, and the mission house was a tin house of about 10 kan in front of the Onyang Police Station. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia also records that the Bangchuk-ri mission chapel began in March 1920 in a tin house of about 10 kan, describing it as a mission chapel that inherited the martyrdom faith tradition of the Naepo Catholic Church following Gongse-ri Church.

Father Colin, the 4 pastor of Gongse-ri Parish, had purchased 1,007 pyeong of church land to the south of the present church in order to establish a parish in Onyang in the future, but the establishment of the parish was not easily achieved. After liberation, the mission chapel was moved to a house donated by a Japanese Catholic who had served as a public elementary school principal before returning to his home country (the present Anglican church building) (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

〔Elevation to Parish〕 In July 1948, the Bangchuk-ri mission chapel was elevated and established as Onyang Parish, and Father Peter Mélizan (Mélizan) was appointed as the first pastor. Father Mélizan fully rebuilt and expanded the church in 1949 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia gives the date of elevation as July 1, 1948 and names Bishop Larribeau (head of the Catholic Daejeon Diocese) as the founder.

〔6·25 War Period〕 In April 1950, when farmland reform reduced church land from 1,007 pyeong to 459 pyeong, Father Peter Leleu (Leleu), the 2 pastor, purchased 1,033 pyeong of farmland at the present church site and enlarged the grounds again. Father Leleu was martyred in July 1950, hit by a bullet fired by communist troops. Father Joseph Shin Jong-ho, the 3 pastor, worked to restore the church weakened by the 6·25 War and reopened the closed Gongsu-ri mission chapel as the Mosan mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that the Mosan mission chapel, which had been closed during the 6·25 War in 1952, was reopened.

〔Construction of the Present Church〕 Father Matthew Han Do-jun, the 4 pastor, purchased 1,032 pyeong of land to secure sufficient church grounds, then began construction in May 1956 and completed the present church (250 pyeong total floor area) in January of the following year, holding a dedication ceremony (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records a move before December 1956 and the construction of the church building in January 1957. In 1958, when the Daejeon Diocese was separated and established from the Archdiocese of Seoul, Onyang Parish became part of the Daejeon Diocese. Father Han newly built the rectory and convent in 1959 and established a branch of the Seoul Sisters of Saint Benedict, and when this congregation withdrew in 1965, he established a branch of the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs in December of the same year. In 1962, he purchased 6,150 pyeong of mountain land in Yonghwa-dong to create a church park cemetery and also purchased 3,810 pyeong of mountain land in Sineon-ri, and in 1965 he established the Wollang mission chapel. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that an annual average of 7 religious of the Sisters of Saint Benedict engaged in missionary activity from 1959 to 1965, and an annual average of 57 religious of the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs from 1965 to 2014.

〔Late 1960s to 1970s〕 Father Thaddeus Kim Yeong-hwan, the 5 pastor, newly built a 48-pyeong kindergarten classroom in 1967 and established Seonhwa Kindergarten in March (the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that Seonhwa Kindergarten operated from 1967 to 1990), newly built the Sodong mission chapel hall in December, and in October 1969 newly built the hall of the Dogo mission chapel. Father Francis Kim Sun-ho, the 6 pastor, newly built the Mosan mission chapel hall in 1970 and in July of the same year newly built the Galsan mission chapel hall (30 pyeong), and in November established a credit union to help parishioners’ economic activities. In November 1971 he newly built the Wollang mission chapel hall (16 pyeong), and on December 8, 1972 first published the parish bulletin. Father Anselm Yu Jae-sik, the 7 pastor, elevated and separated the Dogo mission chapel into a parish in October 1974, newly built the Banghyeon mission chapel hall in May 1975, and in 1976 purchased 5,070 pyeong of mountain land in Naengjeong-ri to additionally create a church park cemetery. In 1977 he newly built the rectory (40 pyeong) and commercial building (80 pyeong) and also purchased 519 pyeong of land for the Mosan mission chapel (all from the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

〔1980s to 1990s〕 Father Francis Yu In-seong, the 8 pastor, expanded the church through the Charismatic Renewal movement by revitalizing the Legion of Mary, newly built the Maegok mission chapel hall in May 1981, and established the Dongam mission chapel in 1982. Father Paul Yun In-sik, the 10 pastor, elevated and separated the Mosan mission chapel as a parish in August 1985 and also established and separated Yonghwa Parish, at which time changing the parish name to Oncheon. In September 1988 he expanded the rectory to 2 stories (40 pyeong). Father Paul Kim Byeong-jae, the 11 pastor, established the Eucharistic Adoration Society in August 1991 to continue Eucharistic adoration and repaired the commercial building to convert it into the parish office and meeting rooms. Father Paul Yun In-yong, the 13 pastor, repaired and maintained the church interior (1996) and the hall (1997), among others, and Father Bernard Bang Yun-seok, the 14 pastor, restored the parish name to Onyang in February 2000 (all from the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). According to the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia, a major renovation and expansion was carried out in 1997, a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the parish’s establishment was held in May 1998, and the book 《Catholic Onyang Parish History》 was published in 2004.

〔Since the 2000s〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Father Ignatius Choe Seok-yeong, the 15 pastor, founded the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, held a 30-minute Holy Hour meditation every Friday after Mass, and promoted the ‘Own Your Bible’ campaign so that by May 2002 all parishioners had their own Bibles. According to the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia, the pastoral council resolved to build a new church in 2014 and began raising funds, holding a bazaar and supporters’ association in 2016, and began construction in March 2017, completing the present new church in October 2018. As of 2019, a branch of the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs is established to assist in pastoral activities.

〔Church Membership and Successive Pastors〕 The membership recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is 1,108 in 1949, 1,354 in 1955, 2,857 in 1965, 3,700 in 1970, 2,329 in 1975, 3,683 in 1981, 1,403 in 1985, 1,926 in 1990, 2,017 in 1995, and 1,947 in 2000. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records 1,751 registered believers in 1957, 3,915 in 1982, 1,926 in 1990 after the separation of two parishes in 1985, and 1,854 as of December 2018 (about 500 Sunday Mass attendees). The jurisdictional area recorded in the encyclopedia is all of Oncheon-1-dong, Gwongok-dong, Mojong-dong, Sindong and Eumbong-dong, and parts of Sirok-dong and Yeomchi-eup. The successive priests are the first Peter Mélizan (1948.7–1950.4), 2 Peter Leleu (1950.5–7), 3 Joseph Shin Jong-ho (1951.3–1954.9), 4 Matthew Han Do-jun (1954.9–1966.3), 5 Thaddeus Kim Yeong-hwan (1966.3–1970.2), 6 Francis Kim Sun-ho (1970.2–1972.12), 7 Anselm Yu Jae-sik (1972.12–1977.10), 8 Francis Yu In-seong (1977.10–1982.9), 9 James Yu Bong-un (1982.9–1985.2), 10 Paul Yun In-sik (1985.2–1990.8), 11 Paul Kim Byeong-jae (1990.8–1992.8), 12 Peter Lee Gyeong-yeol (1992.8–1993.8), 13 Paul Yun In-yong (1993.8–1999.1), 14 Bernard Bang Yun-seok (1999.1–2000.2), and 15 Ignatius Choe Seok-yeong (2000.2–) (as of the encyclopedia’s writing). The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia records that from 2019 Father Albano Lee Deok-gil has served as the 20 pastor, and that 2 priests and 10 religious have come from the parish.

Related Places and Figures

• Gongse-ri Parish: the mother parish to which the Bangchuk-ri mission chapel belonged, and Father Colin had prepared land for the establishment of Onyang Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Dogo Parish: in October 1974 the Dogo mission chapel was elevated and separated as a parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Mosan Parish (Mosan Church) · Yonghwa-dong Parish: parishes separated from Onyang Parish in August 1985 by the elevation of the Mosan mission chapel and by new establishment, respectively (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Peter Leleu (Leleu): the 2 pastor of Onyang Parish, martyred in July 1950, hit by a bullet fired by communist troops (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Sisters of the Korean Martyrs: the congregation whose branch was installed in the parish in December 1965 to assist pastoral work (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Onyang Parish” (9 vol.). Elevation from the Bangchuk-ri mission chapel in July 1948, securing of land and construction of the present church, projects by pastor, separated parishes, membership, jurisdictional area, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4655
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia “Onyang Church”. Establishment of the Bangchuk-ri mission chapel in March 1920, elevation to parish on July 1, 1948, construction of the church building in 1957 and completion of the new church in 2018, mission chapel jurisdiction and separations, present status.
   https://www.grandculture.net/asan/toc/GC07101466