Sejong St. Francis Catholic Church

Overview

Sejong St. Francis Church is a church in Sejong Special Self-Governing City belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Daejeon, and its establishment date is listed as January 15, 2014 in the Korean Catholic directory. Its patron saint is St. Francis of Assisi, and it was initially called ‘Sejong Church’ before changing to its current name on August 2014. Later, Sejong St. John, Sejong St. Paul and Sejong St. Peter churches separated from this parish.

History

〔Establishment and First Pastor〕 The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory lists the establishment date of Sejong St. Francis Church as January 15, 2014. The parish history (2014) on the parish website states that Fr. Song Jun-myeong (Francis) took office as pastor on January 23, and the introduction to successive pastors also lists the tenure of the first pastor Fr. Song Jun-myeong Francis as from January 23, 2014 to January 16, 2019. The chronology for 2014 also includes an entry dated January 15 reading ‘First Mass offered after moving to the newly built church (using the education center on the 2 floor as a temporary chapel)’, and this entry is worded the same as the December 24 entry.

〔Church Building and Name Change〕 According to the parish history, the groundbreaking ceremony for Sejong Church was held on May 17, 2014 presided over by Diocesan Bishop Yu Heung-sik (Lazarus), and the name was changed to ‘Sejong St. Francis Church’ on August 29. On December 24 the parish moved to the newly built church and celebrated its first Mass, using the education center on the 2 floor as a temporary chapel. January 10, 2015 records the celebration of Mass in the 3-floor main sanctuary (starting with the children’s Mass at 17), and on February 1 the entrance Mass and First Communion were held presided over by Diocesan Bishop Yu Heung-sik. On May 3, 2015 the opening and blessing ceremony for Cafe Francis was held, and on May 29 the blessing of the statue of the Virgin Mary and the Marian Night ceremony were held.

〔Branching〕 The parish history records the separation of Sejong St. Paul Church (with Fr. Lee Seong-ho Joseph taking office as pastor) and the separation of Sejong St. John Church (with Fr. Cho Seong-jun Andrea taking office as pastor) on August 19, 2015, and separately records the ‘branching of Sejong St. John Church’ on December 6, 2015. The ‘branching of Sejong St. Paul Church’ is recorded on December 11, 2016. In 2021, the 5 church (pastor Fr. An Du-hyeon Michael), which had celebrated its first Mass on January 24, was separated, and on March 9 the parish registers for Dodam-dong and Eojin-dong were separated, and later in the same year on October 10 the name of the 5 church was fixed as ‘Sejong St. Peter Church.’ On December 8, 2024 St. Peter Church branched off, and a farewell Mass for Sejong St. Peter Church was held.

〔Dedication of the Church and Building Fund〕 According to the chronology, from 2016 to 2018 all parishioners continued each year making pork cutlets, holding bazaars and holding hymn competitions to raise the church building fund. On November 3, 2018 the dedication ceremony for Sejong St. Francis Church was held presided over by Diocesan Bishop Yu Heung-sik (Lazarus), and on November 17 a unity sports festival commemorating the dedication was held. The chronology for 2019 states that the remaining balance for repayment of the church building fund debt was 719 million won from the grace fund, and the expected amount for purchasing an additional 1 lots was 315 million won.

〔Major Records from 2015 to 2019〕 The parish history records the publication of the inaugural issue of the parish newsletter ‘Prayer of Francis’ on March 20, 2015, Confirmation (presided over by Vicar General Bishop Kim Jong-su Augustine) on March 6, 2016, the founding of the Paul Hasang Association on August 28, 2016, the launch of the Jabu Association on January 28, 2018, the opening of the senior college (Francis Sacred Heart College) on March 6, 2018, Confirmation (227 people, presided over by Bishop Yu Heung-sik Lazarus) on April 7, 2019, and the founding of the Columba Kang Wan-suk Association on September 19, 2019. On January 16, 2019 Fr. Song In-chan (Augustine) took office as the 2 pastor, and the number of faithful at the end of 2019 was 2,901 households and 7,397 people.

〔After 2020〕 According to the chronology, on February 23, 2020 the parish began ‘Masses without the faithful’ to prevent COVID-19, resumed Masses on April 23, and on November 22 became a designated church for plenary indulgences commemorating the 200 anniversary of the birth of St. Andrew Kim Dae-geon. On December 8, 2021 the parish’s first priestly ordination (Fr. Yeo Seong-min Mark) took place at Solmoe Shrine. Confirmation (presided over by Diocesan Bishop Kim Jong-su, 101 people) on October 30, 2022, Confirmation (133 people) on June 30, 2024, and the adult baptism (36 people) on December 25, 2024 are recorded. On December 4, 2022 the parish 10 anniversary preparatory committee was launched, and in 2023 10 anniversary lectures and proposals for all parishioners were held. As of January 17, 2021, the number of faithful was 2,449 households and 6,149 people (the 5 church: 698 households and 1,798 people), and at the end of 2022 it was 2,455 households and 6,058 people; the directory lists the number of faithful as 6,746 people.

〔Successive Pastors and Assistant Priests〕 The successive pastors listed on the website are the first Song Jun-myeong Francis (2014.1.23–2019.1.16), the 2 Song In-chan Augustine (2019.1.16–2024.1.17), and the 3 Choi Gyeon-u John the Apostle (2024.1.18–). The assistant priests are introduced as the first Hong Jeong-su Peter (2015.1.19–2017.11.24), the 2 Lee Yeong-il James and Kim Sol Noel (2017.11.24–2020.1.17), the 3 Shin Seong-su Peter (2020.1.17–2021.1.21) and Kim Yeong-min Peter (2020.1.17–2021.12.15), the 4 Lee Jae-seon John the Baptist (2021.1.21–2023.1.18) and Gwak Yeon-jin Francis (2021.12.16–2024.1.17), the 5 Lee Nam-ung Stephen (2023.1.19–2024.1.17), the 6 Kim Jun-seong Stephen (2024.1.18–2025.1.22), and the 7 Kim Dong-yun Bartholomew (2025.1.23–). Here, a blank after ‘–’ means the person was in office at the time the website was written.

Related Places and People

• Sejong St. John Church, Sejong St. Paul Church and Sejong St. Peter Church: churches separated and branched from this parish after 2015 (parish history).
• St. Francis of Assisi: According to the patron saint introduction on the website, his feast day is October 4, and he was active in Assisi as a deacon, founder and confessor. In 1209 he asked the pope to approve his way of life and received oral approval in 1210, which is said to be the beginning of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Order). In 1224 he received the stigmata on Mount La Verna and died on October 3, 1226, and on July 16, 1228 Pope Gregory 9 canonized him. On November 29, 1979 Pope St. John Paul 2 proclaimed him patron saint of ecology and ecologists.

References and Sources

1. Sejong St. Francis Church, “Parish History and Patron Saint.” Parish history posts from 2014–2024 (church groundbreaking, name change, dedication, branching, Confirmation, number of faithful) and introduction to the patron saint.
   http://sjfrancesco.kr/60
2. Sejong St. Francis Church, “Former Parish Pastors.” Names and terms of office of 3 pastors.
   http://sjfrancesco.kr/20
3. Sejong St. Francis Church, “Former Parish Assistant Priests.” Names and terms of office of assistant priests.
   http://sjfrancesco.kr/18
4. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Sejong St. Francis.” Belonging to the Gongju District, establishment date 2014.1.15, patron saint, number of faithful.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000016&code=201000756&gubn2=all&char=all