Beolgyo Catholic Church

Overview

Beolgyo Church is a church in Beolgyo-eup, Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, belonging to the Archdiocese of Gwangju. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel founded in 1941 was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of the Boseong parish to a parish on September 20, 1957, and its first pastor was Father Michael M. Morrissey of the Columban Missionaries.

History

[Mission chapel period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Gospel was first preached in the Beolgyo area around March 1940 by the married couple Bang Yong-won (Thaddeus) and Yang Man-seon (Sabina), who had moved from Yanji in Manchuria. At first there was no Catholic mission chapel in Beolgyo, so they had to attend the Nag-an Catholic mission chapel in Seungju-gun belonging to the Suncheon parish (present-day Jeojeon-dong), and at that time there were three other believers besides Bang Yong-won’s family. In 1941, when Father T. Cusack was pastor of Suncheon parish, the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel was established and Mass came to be celebrated at Bang Yong-won’s house, and on December 7, 1954 the Boseong Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish, so the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel was incorporated into the new parish.

[Elevation to parish] According to the encyclopedia, Father Morrissey, pastor No. 2 of Boseong parish, had Beolgyo in mind among the areas under his jurisdiction as a future site for a parish, and as of September 20, 1957 when the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish, he took office as its first pastor. Father Morrissey acquired and repaired Songmyeong School (now the rectory), which had been operated as a night school since 1940, and used it as the church, and also built a rectory. Until then the parish’s strength was slight, but after the Legion of Mary ‘Mother of the Saviour’ praesidium was founded and carried out evangelization, the number of believers began to increase. In 1958 it received the Goheung Catholic mission chapel under Suncheon parish, and on May 1960 the junior Legion of Mary ‘Most Merciful Virgin’ praesidium was founded and contributed to guiding altar servers at Mass, leading student catechism classes, directing singing and guiding student catechumens.

[Church building and founding of mission chapels] The encyclopedia records that under pastor No. 3, Father A. O’Leary, in 1961, with a donation from an American believer whose son attended the minor seminary and with support from the diocese, a church of 102 pyeong was built. When parish strength expanded greatly under pastor No. 4, Father J. Dolan, the Donggang Catholic mission chapel was founded in Daegang-ri, Donggang-myeon, Goheung-gun, and the Geumseong Catholic mission chapel in Geumseong-ri, Oeseo-myeon, Seungju-gun. With support from the Catholic relief committee (N.C.W.C.C.), a reclamation project was undertaken at Daeseo-ri, Donggang-myeon, but was suspended for lack of funds.

[Change of pastors and transfer of diocese] According to the encyclopedia, on August 1968, with pastor No. 5, Father F. Arriaga, as the last, the Columban Missionaries withdrew and Father L. Pena of the Guadalupe Missions took office. On January 1, 1971 the Goheung Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated, at which time the Gwayeok Catholic mission chapel was transferred to the newly established parish, and Father A. Luna, who took office as pastor No. 10 on August 1976, reorganized the Legion of Mary, founded the apostolic group and the Marian Association, and built an education hall and a rectory. On February 1982, as jurisdiction over Beolgyo parish was transferred to the Archdiocese of Gwangju, Korean Father Andrew An Ho-seok took office as pastor No. 11. Father An Ho-seok, who extensively repaired the church, organized several lay groups such as the Sacred Heart Association, the St. Joseph Association and the Liturgy Association, and Father Kim Jae-gi, pastor No. 13, built a small chapel and a library, newly built catechism rooms, formed a student Bible group and published the student bulletin Putbori.

[Changes in parish strength] The encyclopedia notes that from about that time the migrant population to large cities increased so that parish strength was declining sharply, and that the parish was preparing measures for expansion, such as forming local small communities on April 1996. The strengths recorded in the encyclopedia are 189 persons in 1958, 617 persons in 1964, 718 persons in 1972, 822 persons in 1979, 1,154 persons in 1985, 1,267 persons in 1991, and 1,338 persons in 1995.

[Jurisdiction and directory record] The jurisdiction recorded in the encyclopedia covers Beolgyo-eup and Joseong-myeon in Boseong-gun, Oeseo-myeon, Nag-an-myeon and Songgwang-myeon in Seungju-gun, and Donggang-myeon, Daeseo-myeon and Namyang-myeon in Goheung-gun, with 2 Catholic mission chapels at Donggang and Geumseong. While the encyclopedia lists the patron as St. Margarita, the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory lists the present parish as belonging to the South-Central district, with foundation date September 20, 1957 and patron St. John Mary Vianney.

[Successive pastors] The successive priests listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are first Michael M. Morrissey (Mo) (1957.9–1960.4), No. 2 James J. Michaels (Gwon) (1960.4–8), No. 3 Andrew A. O’Leary (O) (1960.8–1964.8), No. 4 Joseph J. Dolan (Do) (1964.8–1966.9), No. 5 Francis F. Arriaga (Min), No. 6 Ludovico L. Pena (Bae) (1968.8–1971.9), No. 7 Joseph J. Espinoza (No) (1971.9–1972.9), No. 8 Theodoro T. Baguedano (Park) (1972.9–12), No. 9 Paul P. Alvarez (An) (1972.12–1976.8), No. 10 Augustino A. Luna (Yun) (1976.8–1982.2), No. 11 Andrew An Ho-seok (1982.2–1985.2), No. 12 Simeon Lee Jae-hwi (1985.2–1986.2), interim Andrew Kim Jae-gi (1986.5–8), No. 13 Kim Jae-gi (1986.8–1989.2), No. 14 Francis Kim Gwon-il (1989.2–1992.2), No. 15 Moses Jeong Dae-yeong (1992.2–1996.2), No. 16 Lee Jae-hwi (1996.2–1997.2), and No. 17 Thomas Go Eul-sik (1997.2–present at the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, under pastor No. 3, Father O’Leary, in 1961, with a donation from an American believer whose son attended the minor seminary and with support from the diocese, a church of 102 pyeong was built. At first, Songmyeong School (now the rectory), which had been operated as a night school since 1940, was acquired and repaired and used as the church. Under pastor No. 13, Father Kim Jae-gi, a small chapel and a library were built and catechism rooms were newly built.

Related Places and People

• Boseong parish: on December 7, 1954 it was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel to a parish, and the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel was incorporated into this parish. Father Morrissey, pastor No. 2, took office in 1957 as the first pastor of Beolgyo parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Suncheon parish (present-day Jeojeon-dong parish): it was the parish at the time the Beolgyo Catholic mission chapel was established in 1941, and it transferred the Goheung Catholic mission chapel to Beolgyo parish in 1958 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Goheung parish: on January 1, 1971 the Goheung Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Donggang Catholic mission chapel and Geumseong Catholic mission chapel: Catholic mission chapels founded under pastor No. 4, Father Dolan, located respectively in Daegang-ri, Donggang-myeon, Goheung-gun and Geumseong-ri, Oeseo-myeon, Seungju-gun (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Beolgyo Parish” (Archdiocese of Gwangju, Vol. 5). Establishment of the Catholic mission chapel and parish, church building in 1961, change of pastors in 1968, transfer to the Archdiocese of Gwangju in 1982, parish strength, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2434
2. Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Korean Catholic Directory “Beolgyo” (Archdiocese of Gwangju). Foundation date 1957.09.20, patron St. John Mary Vianney, South-Central district.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001150&gubun=4