Nuan Catholic Church

Overview

Noan Church is a church in Yangcheon-ri, Noan-myeon, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do (Iseulchon-gil) belonging to the Archdiocese of Gwangju. Good News shrine and historic site information introduces this church as the first church in the Naju region founded as Gyeryang Parish in 1908. The building built in 1927 was registered as National Registered Cultural Heritage (Registered Cultural Property No. 44) on September 13, 2002.

History

According to Good News shrine and historic site information, in 1894 John Jeong Nak, who lived in Seoul, settled in Nasan-myeon, Hampyeong-gun to escape persecution and ran an herbal medicine shop, and Catholicism became known as residents of Yangcheon-ri, Noan-myeon, Naju-si frequented this herbal shop. Lee Jin-seo, who then ran an herbal shop in Yangcheon-ri, met Jeong Nak and then studied doctrine with relatives Lee Min-suk and Lee Hwa-seo, visited Father Lee Nae-su, who was recuperating in Ujeok-dong, Muan, in 1900 and received baptism, and the Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel began centered on them. The Hankyoreh reports that Jeong Nak gave written doctrinal passages to Gyeryang villagers who came for herbal medicine from around 1897, and introduces Gyeryang village as the place where the first Catholic mission chapel in the Archdiocese of Gwangju was established and, in the words of Father Lee Young-seon, pastor of Noan Church, as the first voluntary Catholic community in the South Jeolla region.

Father Tourneux, appointed to Ujeok-dong, Muan in 1904, sought to establish a parish in Naju and prepared a site at Namsan, Yongsan-ri, Noan-myeon, 7 kilometers from Naju-eup and from Gyeryang each, but after the sale contract was completed the previous landowner cancelled the contract. In the end Father Tourneux elevated the Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel to a parish in 1908. Good News writes that in 1910 Father Cadax purchased a large site, built a cross-shaped thatched church of 40 pyeong and then molded bricks to begin construction of a 2-story Western-style rectory. The Hankyoreh reports that French Father Kadar prepared a thatched church of 40 pyeong in 1908 and personally molded bricks to build a 2-story Western-style rectory, so the spelling of the priest and the date of the thatched church differ between the two sources.

During the tenure of Father Park Jae-su, at Christmas in 1927 the brick rectory was expanded into a Western-style church and completed. In 1933 the Gwangju Bukdong Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated, and in May 1935 the Naju Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated, changing the parish name from 「Gyeryang Parish」 to 「Noan Parish」. Father Kim Chang-hyeon (Paul), appointed in June 1936, purchased thousands of pyeong of rice paddies and fields and built two school buildings to open the Shinseong Academic Institute, a 4-year-system primary school. In 1944 Father Lee Min-du (Thaddeus) led rural enlightenment work and founded a kindergarten.

In 1957 both sides around the altar were expanded to accommodate believers, completing the present Latin cross-shaped church, and in March of the same year the Seongmo Junior Academy was founded and officially authorized as Saint Columban Middle School in 1961. This school was the only secondary educational institution in Noan-myeon and was closed on February 29, 1984. From the late 1960s, as industrialization accelerated the rural exodus, Good News writes that the number of Noan Parish believers, once more than 4,000, declined sharply. In 1985 a youth education center was opened using the buildings and land of the closed Columban Middle School.

In November 2008 the 100th anniversary of the parish foundation was celebrated, in October 2009 the blessing of the Holy Family statue dedicated at the church entrance by graduates of Saint Columban Middle School was held, and in April 2011 a new bishop’s residence for a retired bishop, 「House of Bethany」, was built and blessed next to the church. The Hankyoreh reports that after Father Lee Young-seon was appointed pastor in August 2008, organic farming developed fully in Gyeryang village, and Noan Church is counted, together with Sanjeong-dong Parish in Mokpo, as a cornerstone for the development of the Archdiocese of Gwangju.

Architecture and space

According to the National Heritage Digital Service, Naju Noan Church is a building constructed in 1927, with 1 buildings and a total floor area of 310.45 square meters, the first Catholic church in the Naju region and a representative modern church building of the area. The initial plan was a rectangular hall-type layout, but in 1957 the transept parts were expanded to the east and west, forming a Latin-cross plan. The 1-story tower front uses roughly dressed granite, and various arches are harmoniously arranged throughout the building. The Hankyoreh describes the stone-built church entrance with arches on 3 sides and red bricks as neat and elegant.

The chronology of the National Heritage Digital Service is construction in 1927, transept expansion in 1957, interior ceiling repair in 1978, roof improvement with asphalt shingles in 1992, cultural property registration in 2002 (No. 44), roof leak repair and aged window-frame repair in 2004, restoration of the roof to its original form and replenishment of detached red exterior bricks in 2005–2006, church repair, signboard maintenance and exterior window repair in 2007, roof gutter and drainage maintenance in 2011, change of cultural property name in 2013 (from Naju Noan Catholic Church to Naju Noan Church), special comprehensive inspection of cultural properties in 2014, and eaves gutter and floor repair in 2018.

Religious significance and visiting context

Good News explains that Noan Church was designated as Registered Cultural Property No. 44 of Modern Cultural Heritage by the Cultural Heritage Administration in September 2002 in recognition of its historical significance as the cradle of evangelization in the Naju region and the Archdiocese of Gwangju and the architectural value well reflecting the trends of the times. The Hankyoreh reports that believers holding a Noan Church parish register number more than 1,000 in 15 villages, that in Gyeryang village more than 141 of 72 households, or 98%, are Catholic believers, and that a village daedonggye mutual-aid tradition has continued since 1894.

Related places and people

• Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel - The mission chapel from which Noan Parish originated; the Hankyoreh conveys the words of pastor Father Lee Young-seon that Naju Church and Gwangju Bukdong Church were divided from the Gyeryang mission chapel.
• Gwangju Bukdong Church - The parish formed when the Gwangju Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated in 1933.
• Naju Church - The parish formed when the Naju Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish and separated in May 1935.
• John Jeong Nak - A believer who ran an herbal medicine shop in Nasan-myeon, Hampyeong-gun and made Catholicism known to residents of Yangcheon-ri, Noan-myeon.
• Lee Jin-seo, Lee Min-suk and Lee Hwa-seo - Believers who studied doctrine, received baptism from Father Lee Nae-su in 1900 and started the Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel.
• Father Tourneux - The priest who elevated the Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel to a parish in 1908.
• Father Park Jae-su - The priest who expanded the brick rectory into a Western-style church and completed it at Christmas in 1927.

References and sources

1. Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul Good News, Shrines and Historic Sites - Noan Church. Confirmed the beginning of the Gyeryang Catholic mission chapel, parish foundation in 1908, church completion in 1927, expansion in 1957, school foundation, designation as a registered cultural property in 2002, and events of 2008–2011.
   https://app.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2857
2. National Heritage Digital Service, Naju Noan Church. Confirmed construction in 1927, plan composition and expansion in 1957, the full chronology and National Registered Cultural Heritage registration.
   https://digital.khs.go.kr/heri/heriDetail.do?ctptNo=4413600440000&ctptUid=13898859679959301208
3. Hankyoreh, Honam Ssok - Community built together in harmony by tradition and Catholicism for more than 110 years. Confirmed the beginning of the Gyeryang mission chapel, the thatched church and rectory, the present church building and the current state of Gyeryang village.
   http://asset.hani.co.kr/arti/SERIES/403/591148.html