Goseong Catholic Church

Overview

Goseong Church is a church in Goseong-eup, Goseong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Masan. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it is a parish established when the Hwangni Parish (present-day Gwangdo-myeon, Tongyeong-gun, Gyeongnam) was moved to Goseong on May 14, 1939, and its patron is St. Michael the Archangel.

History

[Catholic Mission Chapel Period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first believer in the Goseong area was Jo Hyang-gyu (David). His family had entered the faith during the persecution period and moved from place to place, then settled in Gyedong (present-day Giwol-ri, Goseong-eup) after freedom of religion was permitted. Father Robert (Robert, Kim Bo-rok), who traveled through the Gyeongsang-do region caring for believers, first visited his house in 1888, when the only believers were the 5 members of the David Jo family, and afterward, through his evangelization, the families of Jo Yong-hyeong (Peter), Lee Donado, Yu Johan and others accepted the Gospel. In 1895, the mission chapel rite also came to be celebrated in neighboring Jangdong (present-day Daepyeong-ri, Goseong-eup); the visitor at that time was Father Oudot (Oudot, O Bo-rok), the 2 pastor of the Busan Parish, and the number of believers in the Goseong area at that time was 66. Father Oudot also established a Catholic mission chapel in Hwangni in 1897.

[Changes in Parish Affiliation] The encyclopedia states that these Catholic mission chapels, which had belonged to the Busan Parish, belonged to the Jinju Parish founded and settled by Father Taquet (Taquet, Eom Taek-gi) on June 1899, and then came to belong to the Masanpo Parish when Father Taquet moved the parish to Masanpo on June 1900. Around this time, there were 50 believers in the Gyedong Catholic mission chapel, 45 in the Jangdong Catholic mission chapel, and 29 in the Hwangni Catholic mission chapel. Thereafter, the Catholic mission chapels in the Goseong area belonged to the Jinju Munsan Parish in 1905, to the Geoje Okpo Parish in 1926, and to the Tongyeong Parish (present-day Chungmu Parish) in 1929, before belonging to the Hwangni Parish established on June 15, 1935. After the first pastor, Father Shin Sun-gyun (Paul), left in 1937, the Hwangni Parish was briefly vacant, and in that year Father Go Gun-sam (Benedict) was appointed as the 2 parish priest on September; while he was in office, the Goseong Parish was newly established and Hwangni was reduced to a Catholic mission chapel.

[Parish Establishment and Church Relocation] According to the encyclopedia, Father Seo Jeong-do (Bernardo), who was appointed as the first pastor with the establishment of the Goseong Parish on May 1939, first purchased a traditional house in Giwol-ri and used it as a temporary church, and the following year, on October, purchased new land and buildings at 475-1, Songhak-dong, Goseong-eup for 3,700 won and moved the church. As it was the late Japanese colonial period and circumstances were difficult, the church could not be newly built and the existing building was remodeled for use. After the 2 pastor, Father Jang Byeong-ryong (John), took office on June 1942 and left office on February the following year, no priest was formally appointed to the parish and only a few priests took charge of pastoral care on a temporary basis.

[Reconstruction of the Parish and New Church] The encyclopedia states that the Goseong Parish was revived when Father Lee Jung-hyeon (John) took office as the 3 pastor on May 1954. This priest secured a new church site in present-day Seongnae-ri and, after completing the church, was transferred on March 1959, and then Father Hubert Bae of Maryknoll briefly took charge of pastoral care on a temporary basis. Father Kim Du-ho (Aloysius) took office as the 4 pastor on April 15, 1961, at which time a branch convent of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established and took charge of evangelization, dispensary work, and leprosy relief work. The number of parishioners at that time was over 1,500.

[Church Growth and Jurisdiction] The encyclopedia states that the parish continued to grow steadily thereafter, reaching over 1,750 during the tenure of the 11 pastor, Father Hwang Chang-geon (Thaddeus), and over 2,000 during the tenure of the 13 pastor, Father Lee Gang-hae (Stephen), but due to local conditions it decreased again from 1991 and was 1,951 at the end of 1993. The 16 pastor, Father Lee Cheong-jun (Francis Xavier), who took office on August 1992, was in office at the time the encyclopedia was written. The affiliated Catholic mission chapels listed in the encyclopedia are 5 in total: Hwangni, Daega (Daega-myeon, Goseong-gun), Baedun (Hoehwa-myeon, Goseong-gun), Sangri (Sangri-myeon, Goseong-gun), and Maam (Maam-myeon, Goseong-gun), and the jurisdiction covers Goseong-eup and most of Goseong-gun, plus parts of Gwangdo-myeon and Dosan-myeon, Tongyeong-gun. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea directory lists the parish as belonging to Region 1 of Geoje District, with the date of establishment as May 14, 1939, the affiliated religious congregation as the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the number of faithful as 2,861, and the number of Catholic mission chapels as 3.

Related Places and People

• Hwangni Parish: established on June 15, 1935, and in 1939 the parish was moved to Goseong with the new establishment of the Goseong Parish, so Hwangni became a Catholic mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gyedong Catholic mission chapel, Jangdong Catholic mission chapel, and Hwangni Catholic mission chapel: early Catholic mission chapels in the Goseong area, recorded in 1888, 1895, and 1897 respectively (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jo Hyang-gyu (David): the first believer in the Goseong area (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Robert (Robert, Kim Bo-rok): first visited the house of Jo Hyang-gyu in 1888 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Oudot (Oudot, O Bo-rok): as the 2 pastor of the Busan Parish, visited the Jangdong Catholic mission chapel in 1895 and established the Hwangni Catholic mission chapel in 1897 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Goseong Parish” (Diocese of Masan, Vol. 1). Catholic mission chapel period, changes in parish affiliation, parish establishment in 1939, church relocation and reconstruction, church growth, affiliated Catholic mission chapels, and jurisdiction.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/352
2. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Catholic Directory of Korea “Goseong” (Diocese of Masan). Date of establishment 1939.05.14, patron St. Michael the Archangel, Geoje District Region 1, religious congregation, number of faithful, and number of Catholic mission chapels.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001041&gubun=4