Seonghwan Church

Overview

Seonghwan Church is a church in Seonghwan-eup, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon, and was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel under Cheonan Parish to a parish on March 11, 1960. Its patron is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and by spinning off the Dunpo, Ipjang, and Jiksan parishes, it became the mother church of Catholicism in northwestern Cheonan.

History

〔Mission Chapel Period〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the 1910s the Seonghwan Catholic mission chapel (chairperson Joseph Go Gang-sun) under Anseong Parish in the Diocese of Suwon had already been established, and when Cheonan Parish was established on May 1939 its affiliation was changed to Cheonan Parish. Around this time, the faithful purchased one tiled-roof house (80 pyeong) at 449 Seonghwan-ri, Seonghwan-eup and used it as the mission chapel hall. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia also records that Seonghwan Catholic Church was a Catholic mission chapel under Anseong Catholic Church in the 1910s and its jurisdiction was changed to Cheonan Catholic Church when it was established in 1939, and that during the mission chapel period meetings were held in a tiled-roof house of about 80 pyeong in Seonghwan-ri.

〔Elevation to Parish〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the Daejeon Vicariate was established on June 23, 1958, and 2 years later, on March 11, 1960, Seonghwan Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish. The first pastor was Father James Yu Bong-un. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia records that as the number of faithful increased, on March 11, 1960 it was elevated to a Catholic church having jurisdiction over the entire Seonghwan-eup area and Jiksan-myeon and parts of Eumbong-myeon, Asan-si, and names Father Yu Bong-un as its founder.

〔Early Expansion and Spin-offs〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on March 1965 it received the parish registers of about 250 persons from 4 Catholic mission chapels in Gwandae-ri, Dunpo-ri, Sanjeon-ri, and Ungyo-ri from Gongseri Parish, on October 1972 it received the Mojeon-ri Catholic mission chapel (23 persons) from Cheonan Parish, and the following year on September it invited the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs. When Dunpo Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish on September 20, 1976, it transferred the parish registers of 125 households, 350 persons, and on March 1979 it newly built the convent building. When Ipjang Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish on August 17, 1988, it transferred the parish registers of 329 households, 863 persons, and the following year on October 19 the Sodong Catholic mission chapel and Sinhyu-ri Catholic mission chapel belonging to Dunpo Parish were incorporated into Seonghwan Parish. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia records that Seonghwan Catholic Church spun off Jiksan Catholic Church in 2003.

〔Creation of the Cemetery〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that on December 1981 it secured a site of 30,900 pyeong in Sodong, Eumbong-myeon, Asan-si for the creation of the parish cemetery and completed the cemetery on September 1990. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia records that beginning in 1981 it began purchasing land around San 124, Sodong-ri, Eumbong-myeon to create a park cemetery, completed it on September 1990 and began operating it, and that in 1997 this cemetery was transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Daejeon and separated from Seonghwan Catholic Church.

〔Construction of Church Buildings〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, with diocesan support construction of a new church began on August 1967 and was completed on April 20 the following year, with the dedication ceremony celebrated by Bishop Peter Hwang Min-seong. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia records that the first church building was completed and used on August 1967. The parish later planned a new church building, in 1995 additionally purchasing 158 pyeong of land, and beginning construction on June 26 the following year, completed on November 8, 1998 a church with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors and held the dedication ceremony (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia likewise records that a new church was built and dedicated on November 8, 1998.

〔Jurisdiction and Present Condition〕 The jurisdiction recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire Seonghwan-eup and Jiksan-myeon of Cheonan-si and parts of Eumbong-myeon of Asan-si, with 2 mission chapels under its jurisdiction, Sodong and Sinhyu-ri. The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia gives the jurisdiction as Seonghwan-eup and parts of Eumbong-myeon, Asan-si (Sodong-ri and Sinhyu-ri), gives the number of faithful as 2,455 persons, and states that under its jurisdiction are the Sodong Catholic mission chapel established in 1912 and the Sinhyu Catholic mission chapel established in 1978. Its major organizations are the pastoral council, district and ban meetings, Legion of Mary, Motika Association, Anna Association, Marriage Encounter couples group, altar servers, Association for the Deceased, Hasang Association, and Sunday school, and its ministers are said to be 1 pastor, 1 assistant priests, and 2 evangelizing sisters.

〔Parish Size and Successive Pastors〕 The parish size recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia was 776 persons in 1961, 846 persons in 1964, 1,265 persons in 1967, 1,391 persons in 1970, 1,772 persons in 1974, 1,649 persons in 1979, 2,350 persons in 1983, 1,623 persons in 1988, 2,319 persons in 1992, and 2,464 persons in 1997. The successive pastors were the 1st James Yu Bong-un (1960.3–1964.4), interim Dionysius Baek Nam-ik (1964.4–1965.3), 2th Paul Park No-yeol (1965.3–1968.12), 3th Paul Kim Dong-eok (1968.12–1972.12), 4th Francis Kim Sun-ho (1972.12–1976.9), 5th Peter Lee Du-haeng (1976.9–1980.9), 6th Joseph Lee Gyu-nam (1980.9–1981.1), 7th Paul Kim Byeong-jae (1981.1–1985.3), 8th Luke Yun Seok-bin (1985.3–1990.8), 9th Mark Yeo Chung-gu (1990.8–1994.8), 10th Isidore Baek Seung-ok (1994.8–1998.9), 11rd Anselm Gwon Tae-ung (1998.10–1999.2), and 12th John Song Gap-ui (1999.2–present). Here, “present” means the time of writing of this encyclopedia.

Related Places and Figures

• Anseong Parish (Diocese of Suwon): the parish to which Seonghwan Catholic mission chapel belonged in the 1910s (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Cheonan Parish (present-day Oryong-dong Parish): established in 1939, it had jurisdiction over Seonghwan Catholic mission chapel, and in 1960 Seonghwan Parish was separated from this parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Dunpo Parish, Ipjang Parish, and Jiksan Parish: parishes spun off from Seonghwan Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Sodong Catholic mission chapel and Sinhyu Catholic mission chapel: mission chapels under Seonghwan Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Seonghwan Parish” (Vol. 7). Parish elevation in 1960, mission-chapel period, transfers and spin-offs, cemetery creation, church construction, parish statistics, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3520
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia “Seonghwan Catholic Church.” Elevation in 1960, mission-chapel period, spin-off, cemetery creation, jurisdiction and present condition.
   https://www.grandculture.net/cheonan/toc/GC04501545