Ganseok 2(i)-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Ganseok 2-dong Church is a church in Ganseok-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City, belonging to the Diocese of Incheon. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it was separated and established from Juan 1-dong Parish on November 1, 1974, with the Resurrection of Jesus as its patron, and it was originally Ganseok-dong Parish but was renamed Ganseok 2-dong Parish on January 1993 following a change of parish names by location.

History

[Before establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, before the establishment of the parish, the faithful of this area belonged to Juan-dong Parish established in 1963 (renamed Juan 1-dong Parish in 1975) and attended communal prayer services at the Mansu-dong Catholic mission chapel. This mission chapel moved in 1967 to a rented family house provided by Father Joseph Gwak of the parish and continued there, but disappeared after the Church of the Korean Martyrs Blessed Monastery was built and the faithful began attending Mass there.

[Parish establishment and church construction] As the number of faithful in the Ganseok-dong and Guwol-dong areas grew, the Diocese of Incheon separated this area from Juan-dong Parish in 1974 to establish a parish and appointed Father Roman Theisen, M.M., Tae Uiseon, as the first pastor. The faithful first rented 1 private houses at 39 Ganseok-dong for use as a church while campaigning to purchase land, and later that year, on December, purchased 1,041 pyeong at the present site. Starting on March the following year, construction of the church building began, and 1 years later, on February 26, 1976, the blessing ceremony for the church, rectory, and convent was held.

[Early activities] While church construction was underway, on September 18, 1975 a branch of the Pohang Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was founded, the Marian Association and the adult association were launched in the same year, and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was founded the following year. The encyclopedia records that a credit union was founded on July 22, 1979, a fundraising campaign for the citizens of Gwangju was conducted on June 1980, and a scholarship selection system was established in 1982.

[Branch parishes and expansion] 4 years after the parish was established, it came to have its first branch parish. As membership grew and the jurisdictional area was developed, it divided off Juwon Parish (now Ganseok 4-dong Parish) on May 1978, Mansu-dong Parish (now Mansu 3-dong Parish) on August of the same year, and Guwol-dong Parish on February 1982. During the tenure of the 4th pastor, Father Hilario Gang Seon, the catechetical classroom was completed on November 27, 1983 with a blessing ceremony, and church expansion begun in 1987 was completed with a blessing ceremony on May 13 the following year.

[Membership and jurisdiction] Membership recorded in the encyclopedia was 1,331 in 1975, 2,902 in 1982, 4,705 in 1988, and 5,953 in 1993. Its jurisdiction is recorded as Ganseok 2-dong and 3-dong and part of Guwol 2-dong. The Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory lists the parish as belonging to the Namdong district, with establishment date November 1, 1974 and patron the Resurrection of Jesus.

[Pastors] Pastors recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first Romano Theisen (1974.11–1981.2), the 2th Francis Francis Blowers, M.M., Yi (1981.2–1981.8), the 3th Joseph Yi Hak-no (1981.9–1983.2), the 4th Hilario Gang Seon (1983.2–1989.2), the 5th John Park Chan-yong (1989.2–1990.2), the 6th Francis O Gyeong-hwan (1990.2–1993.1), and the 7th Hilario Kim Sang-yong (from 1993.1 to the time the encyclopedia was compiled).

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, immediately after its establishment in 1974, 1 private houses at 39 Ganseok-dong were rented for use as a church. Later that year, on December, 1,041 pyeong were purchased at the present site, and construction of the church building began on March the following year, with the blessing ceremony for the church, rectory, and convent held on February 26, 1976. The catechetical classroom was completed and blessed on November 27, 1983, and church expansion begun in 1987 was completed with a blessing ceremony on May 13, 1988.

Related Places and People

• Juan 1-dong Parish (formerly Juan-dong Parish): established in 1963 and had jurisdiction over the faithful of this area, and in 1974 Ganseok-dong Parish was separated from this parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Branch parishes: Juwon (now Ganseok 4-dong, 1978.5), Mansu-dong (now Mansu 3-dong, 1978.8), and Guwol-dong (1982.2) Parishes were divided from this parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Church of the Korean Martyrs Blessed Monastery: after this church was built, the faithful of the Mansu-dong mission chapel began attending Mass there, and the mission chapel disappeared (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Pohang Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: a branch was founded on September 18, 1975 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Ganseok 2-dong Parish” (Diocese of Incheon, Vol. 1). Pre-establishment mission chapel, parish establishment in 1974, church blessing in 1976, branch parishes, blessing of the catechetical classroom and church expansion, membership, jurisdiction, past pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/170
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Ganseok 2-dong” (Diocese of Incheon). Establishment date 1974.11.1, patron Resurrection of Jesus, Namdong district.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201000329&gubun=4