Bupyeong 2-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Bupyeong 2-dong Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Incheon in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on March 1952 it was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel under Dapdong Parish to a parish, and at the time of establishment it was Bupyeong Parish, but in 1964 it was renamed to the present parish name. Its patron is the Sacred Heart of Mary.

History

[Mission-chapel period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Bupyeong area is the birthplace of Saint Kim Seong-im (Martha), martyred on July 20, 1839 during the Gihae Persecution, and is also a place where Saint Min Geuk-ga (Stephen) carried out missionary activity for a long time. After the persecution ended, a new faith community in this area is recorded as having been formed roughly in the early 1900s. In 1909, Father Deneux (E. Deneux, Jeon Hak-jun), the 4th pastor of Jemulpo (now Dapdong) Parish, established the Bupyeong Catholic mission chapel; there were then 21 faithful, and by around 1914 the number had grown to 71. The encyclopedia states, however, that as departing faithful increased because of the abuse of power by the first chapel chairperson, it appears to have been closed after 1927.

In the early 1940s, Father Im Jong-guk (Paul), the 5th pastor of Jemulpo Parish, arranged gatherings for employee and laborer faithful working at the Jobyongchang arsenal, and with this as the occasion, on December 28, 1941 the Bupyeong Catholic mission chapel was revived. The following year Father Im Jong-guk separately established for local residents the Baekmajang (now Sangok-dong in Bupyeong-gu) Catholic mission chapel on August 15 and built a hall on January 12, 1952. As faithful increased around these two mission chapels, Father Craig (H. Craig, Gi Hu-geun) of the Maryknoll Missioners attempted in early 1948 to establish a parish, but the encyclopedia states that the plan came to nothing when he was appointed pastor of Baekdong (now Hyehwa-dong) Parish on June of that year.

[Parish establishment and settlement] As the Korean War entered a lull, Bishop No Gi-nam (Paul) established Bupyeong Parish on March 1952 and appointed Father Kim Yeong-sik (Peter) as first pastor. Father Kim Yeong-sik, who had a passion for orphan relief work, was assigned by the diocese 3,034 pyeong including a dormitory building out of more than 1 ten thousand pyeong of the Parkmun Girls Middle School site, and after expanding and repairing the dormitory, on September of that year he opened the Yeonbaek Our Lady Home to care for orphans, using part of the building as a church (60 pyeong). On May 5, 1955 he opened Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.

Father Kim Yeong-sik hastened new church construction, purchasing in the late 1950s 1,676 pyeong at the present site and beginning work on a church of 164 pyeong, but on May 1960 he was transferred to Huam-dong Parish, and his successor Father Petipren (R. Petip-ren, Byeon Ro-i) completed the church. Judging it difficult to operate the Yeonbaek Our Lady Home and Our Lady of Mercy Hospital at parish level, Father Petipren transferred their operation to the diocese immediately after taking office, and in 1963 established and operated a nursing home accommodating more than 30 persons (closed in 1977).

[Branching and expansion] As missionary activity centered on social-welfare work bore fruit and faithful increased nearly 4-fold in just over 10 years after establishment, on July 1964 Bupyeong 1-dong (now Bupyeong 4-dong) Parish was separated, and during the time of the 9th pastor Father Soltis (J. Soltis), on May 31, 1978 Juwon (now Ganseok 4-dong) Parish was separated. In 1979 the church (135 pyeong) was expanded, and on February 16, 1982 Bupyeong 3-dong Parish, on March 1, 1983 Ilsin-dong Parish, and on April 3 of the same year Bupyeong 5-dong Parish were separated. As meeting rooms ran short, the lay apostolate council took the lead and on May 11, 1990 newly built a 494-pyeong education center equipped with a small chapel and catechesis rooms. Afterwards a bazaar to help needy neighbors was held every year and on November 1996 an environmental charity bazaar was held, and the encyclopedia states that the parish produced a total of 18 priests, including Cheongju diocesan Bishop Jeong Jin-seok (Nicolas).

[Statistics and jurisdiction] The statistics recorded in the encyclopedia are 959 in 1952, 3,824 in 1962, 2,525 in 1972, 3,944 in 1982, 3,869 in 1988, 4,230 in 1992, and 4,603 in 1996. The jurisdiction is recorded as all of Bupyeong 2 and 6-dong and part of Bugae-dong. The Korean Bishops’ Conference directory lists the present parish as belonging to the Bupyeong District, with foundation date March 1, 1952, patron Sacred Heart of Mary Church, and religious community Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[Successive pastors] The successive priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are first Kim Yeong-sik Peter (1952.3–1960.5), 2th Petipren (R. Petip-ren, Byeon) Roy (1960.5–1967.2), 3th O Gyeong-hwan Francis (1967.2–6), 4th Murphy (A. Murphy, Nam) Alfred (1967.6–10), 5th Tynan (J. Tynan, Nam) John (1967.10–1968.4), 6th Bergin (P. Bergin, Hong) Patrick (1968.4–1970.3), 7th Paquet (J. Paquet, Bak) Joseph (1970.3–1972.6), 8th Ju Jae-hyo Joseph (1972.6–1973.8), 9th Soltis (J. Soltis, Seol) John (1973.10–1980.6), 10th Gang Seong-uk Matthew (1980.8–1986.2), 11th Choe Byeong-hak Paul (1986.2–1992.2), 12th Hwang Sang-geun Peter (1992.2–1996.2), and 13th Kim Yeong-jae Gregory (1996.2 to the present at the time the encyclopedia was compiled).

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, in 1952 Father Kim Yeong-sik expanded and repaired a dormitory building on the Parkmun Girls Middle School site for use as the Yeonbaek Our Lady Home, using part of the building (60 pyeong) as a church. In the late 1950s he purchased 1,676 pyeong at the present site and began work on a church of 164 pyeong, which Father Petipren completed. In 1979 the church (135 pyeong) was expanded, and on May 11, 1990 a 494-pyeong education center equipped with a small chapel and catechesis rooms was newly built.

Related Places and Figures

• Dapdong Parish (Jemulpo Parish): the mother parish that established and had jurisdiction over the Bupyeong mission chapel. In 1909 Father Deneux, the 4th pastor, established the Bupyeong mission chapel, and in 1941 Father Im Jong-guk, the 5th pastor, revived the mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Branched parishes: Bupyeong 1-dong (now Bupyeong 4-dong, 1964.7), Juwon (now Ganseok 4-dong, 1978.5.31), Bupyeong 3-dong (1982.2.16), Ilsin-dong (1983.3.1), and Bupyeong 5-dong (1983.4.3) Parishes were separated from this parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Yeonbaek Our Lady Home and Our Lady of Mercy Hospital: the orphanage opened on September 1952 and the hospital opened on May 5, 1955, whose operation Father Petipren transferred to the diocese (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Saint Kim Seong-im (Martha) and Saint Min Geuk-ga (Stephen): mentioned in the encyclopedia respectively as a Bupyeong-born martyr martyred in 1839 and as a figure who evangelized long in the Bupyeong area (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Bupyeong 2-dong Parish” (Diocese of Incheon, Volume 6). Mission-chapel period, parish establishment in 1952, church construction and expansion, branched parishes, statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2699
2. Korean Bishops’ Conference, Korean Catholic Directory “Bupyeong 2-dong” (Diocese of Incheon). Foundation date 1952.03.01, patron Sacred Heart of Mary Church, religious community Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bupyeong District.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201000366&gubun=4