Deokjin Church

Overview

Deokjin Church is a church in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk State belonging to the Diocese of Jeonju. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it was separated and established from Jungang Parish on June 15, 1964, and its patron is St. Peter Canisius.

History

[Mission Chapel Period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the faith community in this area began in 1947 as a Catholic mission chapel under Daedong (now Jungang) Parish. On December 1956, under the diocesan plan to build a memorial church at a martyrdom site, it purchased 1,680 pyeong of land near the former church (in front of the main gate of Jeonbuk National University), and on March 1958 the diocese purchased the present church site. On April 1962, with the arrival of Fr. Hagger, who also served as principal of Haeseong School, it was elevated to a quasi-parish.

[Parish Establishment] The encyclopedia records that the following year, on April, Fr. Hagger began preparations for building the church and on September 1 broke ground for a 70-pyeong church on the former church site with foreign aid, but construction was temporarily suspended when Fr. Hagger returned home. Construction resumed on February 1964, and that year on June it was elevated to a parish, with Fr. Lee Dae-gwon appointed as the first pastor, and on September the dedication ceremony for the new church was held with Bishop Han Gong-ryeol presiding. In 1971, a hall for the Naedong Catholic mission chapel (now under the jurisdiction of Dongsan Parish) was newly built.

[New Church Construction and Transformation] According to the encyclopedia, when the jurisdictional area was developed as a residential district in the 1970s and the population surged, ground was broken for a church, rectory and meeting rooms with a total of 220 pyeong on land purchased in 1958, and consecrated on October 3, 1977. As of April 20, 1983, a branch house of the Sisters of Caritas was installed on the former church site adjacent to the present church, and in the same year, starting July, a parish monthly bulletin doubling as a small-group newsletter was published. On March 13, 1984, the parish-affiliated Jinbok Kindergarten was established and opened on the former church site, and on May, a Marian grotto, a statue of Christ, reliefs of 103 saints and a statue of Fr. Kim Dae-geon were erected in the garden. As the diocese sold the former church site on December 1988, the convent and kindergarten were moved to the present church the following year on August 15, and the rectory was newly built together with the convent and kindergarten while the old rectory was demolished to create a playground.

[The 1990s] The encyclopedia states that on August 1993, in line with the diocesan policy to help rural parishes, it formed a sisterhood tie with Muju Parish, and that it began remodeling the church on May 20, 1994, carrying out stone work on the altar, remodeling of the main gate and entrance doors, and interior painting and electrical work, and then held the dedication ceremony for the remodeled church on July 31. On October 1994, it held the Deokjin Hanmadang bazaar and delivered the proceeds for Rwandan refugees to the diocesan chancery. Its daughter parishes are Dongsan Parish, elevated from a Catholic mission chapel on May 1984, and Songcheon-dong Parish, separated on July 1987, and on January 1985, following the establishment of Geumam Parish, part of the parish territory was incorporated into Geumam Parish.

[Church Statistics, Jurisdiction and Successive Priests] The jurisdictional area recorded in the encyclopedia is part of Geumam-dong and Deokjin-dong 1 and 2, and Palbok-dong 1 to 4. Church statistics are 1,489 people in 1971, 2,255 people in 1980, 3,274 people in 1988, and 3,955 people in 1993. The successive priests are interim Gregory Hagger (G. Hagger, Ha Jae-hong) (1962.4-1964.6), first pastor Paul Lee Dae-gwon (1964.6-1966.4), 2 pastor Paul Sim Jae-seong (1966.4-1969.12), 3 pastor Lawrence Park Jin-ryang (1969.12-1970.5), 4 pastor Joseph Kim Jong-taek (1970.5-1974.7), 5 pastor Andrew Park Jong-geun (1974.7-1978.4), 6 pastor Peter Seo Seok-gi (1978.4-1982.10), 7 pastor John the Baptist Kim Bong-hui (1982.10-1987.9), 8 pastor Ignatius Seong Tae-su (1987.9-1991.8), 9 pastor Dominic Kang In-chan (1991.8-present at the time of writing). The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the present parish as belonging to the 4 deanery, its establishment date as April 1963, its patron as Peter Canisius, and its serving congregation as the Sisters of Caritas of Jesus. Its establishment date differs from that in the encyclopedia (June 15, 1964).

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, ground was broken for a 70-pyeong church on the former church site on September 1, 1963, and the dedication ceremony for the new church was held on September 1964. On October 3, 1977, a church, rectory and meeting rooms with a total of 220 pyeong were consecrated, and on May 1984, a Marian grotto, a statue of Christ, reliefs of 103 saints and a statue of Fr. Kim Dae-geon were erected in the garden. The church remodeling begun on May 20, 1994 was completed with the dedication ceremony for the remodeled church on July 31.

Related Places and People

• Jungang (Daedong) Parish: it had jurisdiction over the Deokjin area Catholic mission chapel in 1947, and is the mother parish from which Deokjin Parish was separated in 1964 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Dongsan Parish and Songcheon-dong Parish: daughter parishes of Deokjin Parish; Dongsan was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel on May 1984, and Songcheon-dong was separated on July 1987 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Geumam Parish: when it was newly established on January 1985, part of the territory under Deokjin Parish was incorporated into it (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Fr. Hagger (G. Hagger, Ha Jae-hong): interim head at the time of the quasi-parish in 1962 who prepared the construction of the church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Deokjin Parish” (Diocese of Jeonju, vol. 3). Mission chapel period, parish establishment in 1964, church dedication, new construction and remodeling, daughter parishes, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1343
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Deokjin” (Diocese of Jeonju). Establishment date 1963.4, patron Peter Canisius, Sisters of Caritas of Jesus, 4 deanery.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001283&gubun=4