Bansong Catholic Church

History & origins

The beginnings of Bansong Parish coincide with the period around 1980 when planned-city Changwon was rapidly taking shape. Factories appeared south of Changwon-daero and the Bansong and Yongji apartment complexes were being built, bringing a sharp increase in population. Yongji-dong Parish, which served the area at the time, could no longer adequately handle the expanding territory and Catholic population. In August 1980, under Father Paul Shin Eun-geun, a provisional committee was formed to prepare a church and a new parish in Bansong.

Bishop Joseph Jang Byeong-hwa organized a pilgrimage group to help raise funds for the church site, and offerings made by twenty-three participants contributed to the purchase of the property. After the land was secured, Bishop Jang presided at the groundbreaking ceremony on December 10, 1980. While construction was still underway, Bansong Parish was formally separated from Yongji-dong Parish and established on January 26, 1981.

The new church was completed and dedicated on September 26 of the same year. Construction therefore began before the parish was formally established, and the new community received its permanent church within the year. The early history of Bansong shows how the diocese and an existing parish responded quickly to urban population growth and created a new pastoral center through the financial and practical participation of Catholics. Since later parishes such as Myeongseo-dong were in turn separated from Bansong, the parish also became an important intermediate center in the continuing reorganization of Catholic life in expanding Changwon.