Namhae Catholic Church

Overview

Namhae Church is a church in Namhae-eup, Namhae-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Masan. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on December 28, 1961 it was separated from Samcheonpo Parish and established, and its first parish priest was Father Donato Calmarini (Kang) of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Its patron is the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (listed as Our Lady of Sorrows in the Bishops’ Conference directory).

History

[Mission chapel era] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the Namhae area believers began to appear around 1930, centered on Namhae-eup, and a Catholic mission chapel was also established. However, as early believers gradually died and many descendants moved elsewhere, growth was difficult, and after liberation the Namhae mission chapel belonged to Jinju Parish (now Okbong Parish) in 8·15, and from 1957 to Samcheonpo Parish. The encyclopedia states that from the following year, 1958, Kim Bong-su (Peter), who had moved from Yeosu, Jeonnam to Namhae, together with Namhae believer Han Lucia, chairman Park Peter and others, led a movement to rebuild the mission chapel, and it was elevated to a parish.

[Foundation as a parish and early building] According to the encyclopedia, the first parish priest, Father Donato Kang, devoted himself to evangelization, so that by around 1963 the number of believers had greatly increased, and church building proceeded actively, with a new church (1961), rectory (1962) and convent (1963) built. With the establishment of the Diocese of Masan in 1966, it was decided that a Korean diocesan priest should take charge of Namhae Parish, and on January 31, 1967 Father Bartholomew Lee Jong-chang took office. Afterwards it was briefly entrusted to the Guadalupans who had come from Mexico, but from 1971 a Korean diocesan priest has again been in charge, it says.

[Activities in 1970–80s] The encyclopedia states that until the mid-1970s Namhae Parish found parish-centered ministry difficult because transportation and road conditions were poor, and therefore concentrated on founding and fostering mission chapels. On June 1973 the Namhae Bridge was built, and as the area grew as a tourist destination the parish also gradually developed. In 1977 it received permission to establish a kindergarten and first began early-childhood education in the area, and in 1978 it gave attention to youth ministry and held athletic games in which youth from the parish and mission chapels participated together. In 1985 it conducted a Bible-reading campaign for all believers under the slogan ‘Bible 40 Weeks’, and in 1988 under the slogan ‘Know more, gather more’. The 3 mission chapels belonging to the parish were offered in summer as mountain-school venues for Sunday-school students from other parishes, and on September 1985 a 1-week course on Catholic thought was held for educators and intellectuals in the Namhae area. On November 1987, when there was no school bus for middle- and high-school students in the district and accidents kept occurring, the encyclopedia records that, while demanding corrective action from the authorities, all parishioners held a silent demonstration and offered a memorial Mass for the deceased students.

[New church construction and dedication] According to the encyclopedia, as the number of believers gradually grew, construction of a new church began on September 9, 1987, completing a building on a site of more than 1,400 pyeong with total floor area of 230 pyeong, with 1 basement floor and 2 above-ground floors, and the dedication was celebrated on January 30, 1989 officiated by Bishop Jang Byeong-hwa. It is a church designed in the shape of mountains to harmonize with Namhae’s natural scenery. The encyclopedia notes that at the time average Sunday Mass attendance was only ‘1–200 people’, most of them the only Catholics in their households and mostly grandmothers over 60 years old, so the large project including the kindergarten and education hall involved many difficulties, but it was completed through the prayers and sacrifices of all believers. On February 19, 1994 the rectory and convent were completed, finishing the church construction.

[Statistics and jurisdiction] The statistics recorded in the encyclopedia are 1,100 believers in 1988 and 1,286 believers in 1993. Its jurisdiction is the whole Namhae-gun area (excluding Changseon-myeon), including Namhae-eup, Seo-myeon, Nam-myeon, Idong-myeon, Gohyeon-myeon, Seolcheon-myeon, Sangju-myeon, Mijo-myeon and Samdong-myeon. Its affiliated mission chapels were 3 places: Mijo, Sangju and Eunjeom. The Korean Bishops’ Conference directory currently lists the parish as belonging to the Jinju District 4 region, with establishment date December 28, 1961, 1,402 believers and 2 mission chapels.

[Successive parish priests] The successive priests listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first, Donato D. Calmarini (Kang) (1961.12–1965.4), No. 2 Carmelo C. Nargi (Nam) (1965.4–1967.1), No. 3 Bartholomew Lee Jong-chang (1967.1–1969.4), No. 4 Joseph Kim Deok-sin (1969.4–1970.8), No. 5 Aloysius A. Pena (1970.8–1971.6), No. 6 Armando A. Espinosa (1971.6–1971.8), No. 7 Peter Jeong Sun-jae (1971.8–1972.12), No. 8 Augustine Park Jae-geun (1972.12–1974.6), No. 9 Cyrillo Park Hae-jun (1974.6–1977.4), No. 10 Francis An Myeong-ok (1977.4–1979.1), No. 11 Abraham Heo Seong-hak (1979.1–1982.2), No. 12 John Je Chan-seok (1982.2–1985.2), No. 13 Constantino Bae Gi-hyeon (1985.2–1989.7), No. 14 Remigio Kim Sang-jin (1989.7–1991.7), No. 15 Gregory Yang Tae-hyeon (1991.7–1994.8), and No. 16 Bartholomew Yu Bong-ho (1994.8–to the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, a church (1961), rectory (1962) and convent (1963) were first newly built, and on September 9, 1987 work on a new church began on a site of more than 1,400 pyeong with total floor area 230 pyeong, with 1 basement floor and 2 above-ground floors, dedicated on January 30, 1989 officiated by Bishop Jang Byeong-hwa. The church was designed in the shape of mountains to harmonize with Namhae’s scenery, and on February 19, 1994 the rectory and convent were completed.

Related Places and People

• Samcheonpo Parish: on December 28, 1961 Namhae Parish was separated from this parish and established, and the Namhae mission chapel had belonged to Samcheonpo Parish since 1957 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jinju Parish (now Okbong Parish): the parish to which the Namhae mission chapel belonged after liberation (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Mijo, Sangju and Eunjeom mission chapels: the 3 affiliated mission chapels of Namhae Parish recorded in the encyclopedia (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Bishop Jang Byeong-hwa: officiated the dedication of Namhae Church on January 30, 1989 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Namhae Parish” (Diocese of Masan, Vol. 2). Rebuilding of the mission chapel and elevation to parish, early building, dedication in 1989, statistics, jurisdiction, mission chapels, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1056
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Namhae” (Diocese of Masan). Establishment date 1961.12.28, patron (Our Lady of Sorrows), Jinju District 4 region, number of believers, number of mission chapels.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001047&gubun=4