Jungheung-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Jungheung-dong Church is a church in Jungheung-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, belonging to the Archdiocese of Gwangju. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia, it was established as a parish on July 1, 1972, starting from the Hyojuk-dong Catholic mission chapel. The parish patron is the 103 Korean martyr saints.

History

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 23th pastor of Bukdong Parish, Father O'Neill (Cheon Noel), found pastoral work difficult because his jurisdiction was vast, so he planned to divide the parish and, around 1960, completed a building of 10 pyeong in Hyojuk-dong and opened a mission chapel. The mission chapel faithful carried on active devotional life, including founding the “Our Lady of Lourdes” praesidium. In August 1964, when Gyerim-dong Parish was separated and newly established from Bukdong Parish, Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel came under the jurisdiction of the new parish. Later, as the church grew through the activities of several groups such as the elementary Sunday school and the Legion of Mary, Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel was elevated to Jungheung-dong Parish in July 1972, and Father McCarthy took office as the first pastor. The Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia records that Jungheung-dong Church began from Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel in 1960 and was separated from Gyerim-dong Church and established on July 1, 1972.

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father McCarthy began construction in September 1972 on the present parish site (612 pyeong) and in December completed the church (154 pyeong) and the rectory (26 pyeong) and celebrated the blessing. The Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia records that on December 8 the church and rectory were completed and the first Mass was offered. In the early period after elevation to a parish, the jurisdiction was vast and lay toward the outskirts of Gwangju, so pastoral work faced many difficulties, but Father McCarthy steadily carried on a campaign to double the number of faithful and achieved results. The 2th pastor, Father Brandon, also worked to enliven evangelization, and the 3th pastor, Father O'Connor, newly built a convent (19 pyeong) and an office (11 pyeong) in September 1979 and in February of the following year provided a branch house for the Inbo Eucharistic Sisters.

The 4th pastor, Father McMahon, judged that the existing church was old and could not accommodate the growing number of faithful, so he launched the “Church Construction Committee” and began work. As a result, for the first time in the diocese and without outside help, he built a new church with 2 stories above ground (295 pyeong) and celebrated the dedication on November 22, 1981 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia records that, because of the increase in faithful and the aging of the church, groundbreaking took place in July 1981 and a new church was established.

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the parish, which had been on the outskirts of the city, saw its jurisdiction become the center of the city with regional development, and the faithful increased. The 5th pastor, Father Burke, transferred the parish registers of 195 households (540 persons) to Duam-dong Parish in June 1984 and, in November of the following year, transferred the registers of 165 households (440 persons) to Ochi-dong Parish, separating them. The 7th pastor, Father Kim Mu-ung, formed the “General Education Hall Construction Committee” in March 1989 to obtain a building for use as an education hall, rectory, and office, and began construction, completing an education hall with 1 basement story and 2 stories above ground (328 pyeong) and celebrating the blessing in April 1990.

The 8th pastor, Father Kim Hong-eon, prepared in September 1991, as part of the Hanmaum Hanmom movement, the free meal house “House of Manna” for elderly people without meals, persons with physical disabilities, and homeless sick persons without support, and this facility operated until February 2003. In March 1994, for elementary and middle school students from the poor neighborhood in Usan-dong and others who had no room to study and could not afford private academies, he rented a house at 411 Usan-dong and opened the “Seongmo Study Room” (operated until March 1995, afterwards operated inside the parish), and from April 1994 he opened a Eucharistic adoration room. The 9th pastor, Father Jang Yong-ju, concluded a sisterhood relationship with Guam-dong Parish in the Diocese of Masan in June 1999 in order to overcome regional conflict between Yeongnam and Honam and to promote understanding and reconciliation among the faithful (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

According to the Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia, the church was rebuilt again on March 1, 2014, and the dedication of the new church was celebrated with Bishop Ok Hyeon-jin presiding.

Faith significance and visit context

The Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia explains that Jungheung-dong Church was established to spread the Gospel centered on Jungheung-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, to Usan-dong, Punghyang-dong, Yongbong-dong, Munheung-dong, Ochi-dong, and part of Sinan-dong. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia lists the jurisdiction as all of Jungheung-dong and Punghyang 2-dong and parts of Usan-dong, Yongbong-dong, and Munheung-dong, and lists 1 Changpyeong mission chapel as a jurisdictional mission chapel.

The church statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 880 persons in 1973, 1,439 persons in 1978, 3,144 persons in 1983, 4,821 persons in 1988, 5,132 persons in 1993, 5,015 persons in 1997, and 4,741 persons in 2001. According to the Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia, the parish religious community is the Inbo Eucharistic Sisters.

Related places and people

• Bukdong Church: the parish where Father O'Neill, who opened Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel in the Jungheung-dong area, served as pastor (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gyerim-dong Church: separated and newly established from Bukdong Parish in August 1964, it had jurisdiction over Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Duam-dong Church: the parish separated from Jungheung-dong Parish in June 1984 by receiving transferred parish registers.
• Ochi-dong Church: the parish separated from Jungheung-dong Parish in November 1985 by receiving transferred parish registers.
• Guam-dong Church in the Diocese of Masan: the parish that concluded a sisterhood relationship in June 1999 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

The successive pastors listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are as follows. First, Michael McCarthy (1972.7–1974.12), 2th, Patricio Brandon (1974.12–1978.3), 3th, Mauricio O'Connor (1978.3–1980.6), 4th, Hugo McMahon (1980.6–1982.12), interim, Daniel Ogorman (1982.12–1983.1), 5th, Martino Burke (1983.1–1985.9), 6th, David Sheehan (1985.9–1986.2), 7th, Yulio Kim Mu-ung (1986.2–1991.2), 8th, John Bosco Kim Hong-eon (1991.2–1995.2), 9th, Alberto Jang Yong-ju (1995.2–2000.1), 10th, Thomas Aquinas Jeong Gyu-wan (2000.1–2002.8), 11th, Moses Bae Haeng-gi (2002.8–, listed as “current” in the encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Jungheung-dong Parish.” Elevation from Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel to a parish on July 1, 1972, the patron 103 Korean martyr saints, jurisdiction and mission chapel, church statistics, successive pastors, completion of the church in 1972, dedication of the new church in 1981, separation of Duam-dong and Ochi-dong, education hall and social work, and the sisterhood with Guam-dong Parish were confirmed.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5792
2. Digital Gwangju Culture Encyclopedia, “Jungheung-dong Church.” The start from Hyojuk-dong Mission Chapel in 1960 and establishment on July 1, 1972, the first pastor, the first Mass on December 8, 1972, groundbreaking in 1981, dedication of the new church on March 1, 2014, and the jurisdictional area were confirmed.
   https://gwangju.grandculture.net/gwangju/toc/GC60003281