Sinryeweon Church

Overview

Sinryewon Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon, located in Changsori, Yesan-eup, Yesan-gun, South Chungcheong Province. It was elevated and established as a parish from a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Yesan Parish on October 19, 1977, and its patron is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the time of its establishment, its jurisdiction included Yeosaul, which is described as the beginning of Catholicism in the Naepo region.

History

[Arrival of the Gospel] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first place in the jurisdiction of Sinryewon Parish to receive the Gospel was Yeosaul in Sinam-myeon (present-day Sinjong-ri, Sinam-myeon). Around the year 1784, Yi Jon-chang (Ludovico Gonzaga), a native of Yeosaul, learned doctrine from Gwon Il-sin (Francis Xavier), entered the faith, and then spread the Gospel to the areas near his hometown, and this mission became the foundation for the formation of faith communities in the Naepo region. The widespread propagation of the Gospel in the Sinryewon area occurred much later than that.

[Sinryewon Mission Chapel] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that believers began to live in Sinryewon-ri around the year 1925, and that a faith community was formed as a few believers, including Hwang Geum-seong (John), lived on a hill about 400m north of Sinryewon Station. This community became the Sinryewon Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Yesan Parish in 1928, 3 years later. In 1961, when the number of chapel believers reached 270, Father Bodebang (E. Beaudevin), the pastor of Yesan Parish, purchased the land of the present church site and built a hall with a size of 50 pyeong.

[Elevation to a Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1975 Bishop Hwang Min-seong (Peter), then head of the Diocese of Daejeon, decided to establish a parish in Sinryewon because a Chungnam spinning factory was planned for the Sinryewon area and a sharp population increase was expected. In October 1977 the Sinryewon Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish, and Father U Hui-su became the first pastor. The Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia also records that Sinryewon Church was elevated and established from a mission chapel to a parish on October 19, 1977, that the first pastor was Father U Hui-su Baltasar, and that the present church was newly built during his term.

[Dedication of the Church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father U Hui-su formed a “Church Construction Promotion Committee” in December 1977 immediately after taking office, began construction in October of the following year, and completed the church (99 pyeong) and the rectory (31 pyeong) on September 17, 1979, holding the dedication ceremony.

[Preservation of Yi Jon-chang’s Birthplace and Later Projects] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2 pastor, Father Plassier (A. Plassier), began “preservation work on Yi Jon-chang’s birthplace” in November 1985 to protect historic sites in his jurisdiction. The entire offering from the Chuseok joint Mass that year was used for this work, and chapel believers volunteered by bringing farm tools. The 3 pastor, Father Yu Yeong-so, continued the work, completing the birthplace preservation in November 1987 and holding the blessing ceremony. Under the 5 pastor, Father Yu Tak-jun, in April 1994 a prefabricated building with a size of 27 pyeong was added on the 2 floor of the rectory for the re-education of believers, landscaping was carried out around the Marian statue in June of the same year, a promotion committee for a convent and an education hall was formed in December 1996, and a site of 706 pyeong was purchased in December of the following year. The 6 pastor, Father Maeng Se-yeong, moved the parish Marian statue to the Gyecheon mission chapel in July 1999 and dedicated a Korean Madonna and Child statue with donations from believers. The encyclopedia records that believers, who had been preparing for a new church construction since 1996, received deliberation and approval for church construction from the diocesan building committee in May 2000 and were scheduled to begin the new church construction in early March 2001.

[Yeosaul and Sucheol-ri Mission Chapels] According to the Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia, at the time of the separation of Sinryewon Church, its jurisdiction included the Yeosaul mission chapel, which is described as the beginning of the Naepo Catholic Church. Because of old mission chapels such as those in Gyecheon-ri and Sucheol-ri, there were many hereditary believers who had lived the faith for generations, the so-called old Catholics. Yeosaul was separated in 2008 and a priest in charge was dispatched, so a full-scale sanctuarization project proceeded, and since 2014 Father Yi Sang-ho John has led the maintenance of the Sucheol-ri mission chapel so that pilgrims can experience the heritage of mission-chapel faith.

[Church Statistics and Jurisdiction] The church statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 1,043 in 1977, 1,329 in 1982, 1,425 in 1988, 1,145 in 1994, and 1,291 in 1999. Its jurisdiction was all of Sinam-myeon and part of Yesan-eup, and its mission chapels were 6 places, including Yeosaul, Gyecheon, Jogok-ri, Yonggung-ri, Yerim-ri, and Sucheol-ri. The successive pastors were the first, U Hui-su Baltasar (1977.10–1982.9), the 2, Plassier (Park Su-beom) Augustine (1982.9–1986.8), the 3, Yu Yeong-so Blasio (1986.8–1991.8), the 4, Kim Jin-hwa John the Baptist (1991.8–1993.8), the 5, Yu Tak-jun Raphael (1993.8–1998.4), and the 6, Maeng Se-yeong John the Baptist (1998.4–) (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

Related Places and Persons

• Yi Jon-chang (Ludovico): Born in Sinam, Yesan in 1759, a martyr called the “Apostle of Naepo,” he was arrested on March 18, 1801 and beheaded in Gongju on April 9. South Chungcheong Province designated the “Birthplace Site of Yi Jon-chang in Yeosaul, Yesan” as Chungcheongnam-do Monument No. 177 in 2008 (Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia “Yi Jon-chang”).
• Yeosaul Shrine: In Yeosaul, which is described as the beginning of Naepo Catholicism, the Yeosaul Shrine Church was separated and established in 2008 (Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia “Catholicism”).
• Yesan Church (Oridong): It is the mother parish of the Sinryewon mission chapel. The Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia records that Yesan Church (Oridong Church), which branched off from Hapdeok Church in 1927, separated Hongseong Parish in 1950, Sapgyo Parish in 1966, Sinryewon Parish in 1977, and Sanseong-ri Parish in 1988, and is designated as Chungcheongnam-do Monument No. 164.

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Sinryewon Parish” (Volume 8). Elevation to a parish on October 19, 1977, patron, jurisdiction and mission chapels, mission-chapel period, church dedication in 1979, preservation work on Yi Jon-chang’s birthplace, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3904
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia “Catholicism”. Overview of Catholicism in the Yesan area, elevation and establishment of Sinryewon Church, Yeosaul mission chapel and Sucheol-ri mission chapel.
   https://www.grandculture.net/yesan/toc/GC06601079
3. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Yesan Culture Encyclopedia “Yi Jon-chang”. Life of Yi Jon-chang and designation of the Yeosaul birthplace site as a Chungcheongnam-do monument.
   https://www.grandculture.net/yesan/toc/GC06600778