Namseong-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Namseong-dong Church is a church in Namseong-dong, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Masan. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it was separated and established from Masan Parish (now Wolwol-dong Parish) on July 1951, and at the time of establishment it was Gumasan Parish belonging to the Diocese of Daegu; its name was changed to Jungang Parish in 1959 and to Namseong-dong Parish in 1979. Its patron is St. Paul.

History

[Preparation for parish establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the beginning of Namseong-dong Parish started when a church-building preparation committee was launched in Masan Parish in 1930. On May 1947, the committee used 16,000 won it had raised to purchase land and a house on the ground at lot 160 in Namseong-dong, Masan-si, in preparation for establishing the parish. On July 1951, it was formally established as Gumasan Parish belonging to the Diocese of Daegu.

[Church construction, cemetery and kindergarten] The encyclopedia states that construction of the church building began in 1957, was temporarily suspended for lack of funds, but was completed on August 1958 through the efforts of the faithful. The following year, on April, it purchased 5,100 pyeong of forest land at mountain lots 38 and 41 in Seokjeon-dong, Masan-si, to create a parish cemetery, and on June 1959, a branch of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres was opened and with it Seongmo Kindergarten was also opened.

[Name changes and cathedral] According to the encyclopedia, the name of Gumasan Parish was changed to Jungang Parish from October 1959, and with the establishment of the Diocese of Masan on March 1966, it was designated as the cathedral of the Diocese of Masan. As the area around the church gradually became commercialized, however, it was no longer suitable as a cathedral parish, so on February 1979 Yangdeok-dong Parish was designated as the new cathedral, and on that occasion the name Jungang Parish was changed to the present Namseong-dong Parish.

[Annex buildings and interior renovation] The encyclopedia states that it built Paul Hall as an annex building on October 1963, and expanded it to 3 stories on November 1971, newly building a convent and offices as well. On November 1985, interior renovation of the church was completed, and at that time the church and annex buildings together stood on 43,435 pyeong of land with 457 pyeong of floor area.

[Branch parishes and parish activities] According to the encyclopedia, Namseong-dong Parish actively assisted in establishing new parishes, beginning with Sangnam Parish on January 1967 and followed by Gaeumjeong (1977), Bansong-Yanggok (1981), Sapadong (1989) and Hogye (1991) parishes. Repeated divisions, the movement of faithful following the establishment of Changwon-si, and the fact that most of the faithful were engaged in commerce made parish administration difficult. On the other hand, the encyclopedia notes that the Legion and most group activities were systematically run centered on male faithful in their 30s, and assistance to neighbors in need contributed greatly to parish vitality. From the second half of 1994, it focused on vitalizing small communities using Gospel-meditation stage-7 materials, and held seven-day retreats before Advent and Lent, weekly parent education, and special lectures on women and environmental education. The encyclopedia states that it was preparing commemorative projects and events ahead of the 50th anniversary of parish establishment.

[Statistics and jurisdiction] The statistics recorded in the encyclopedia are 316 faithful in 1953, 2,660 in 1965, 2,342 in 1975, 3,999 in 1988, and 3,632 in 1993. Its jurisdiction was Namseong-dong, Jungseong-dong, Dongseong-dong, Chang-dong, Sinpo-dong, Odong-dong, Seoseong-dong, Suseong-dong, Bullim-dong, Seongho-dong and Chusan-dong in Masan-si, with 1 Catholic mission chapel in Sujeong under its jurisdiction. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the parish as belonging to zone 2 of the Masan district, its establishment date as June 16, 1952 (the encyclopedia gives July 1951), its serving religious congregation as the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the number of faithful as 3,449, and the number of mission chapels as 1.

[Successive pastors] The successive priests listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the founding pastor Joseph Yu Gyeong-seon (1951–1956), the 2 pastor Augustine Kim Jun-pil (1956–1961.6), the 3 pastor Moses Kim Seong-do (1961.6–1966.1), the 4 pastor Florian Jeong Ha-gwon (1961.1–1970.11), the 5 pastor Aloysius Kim Du-ho (1970.11–1974.6), the 6 pastor Augustine Park Jae-geun (1974.6–1976.1), the 7 pastor Bartholomew Lee Jong-chang (1976.1–1977.12), the 8 pastor John Jeong Sun-gu (1977.12–1982.2), the 9 pastor John Jeong Sam-gyu (1982.2–1984.1), the 10 pastor Thaddeus Hwang Chang-geon (1984.1–1987.2), the 11 pastor Philip Lee Yun-ho (1987.2–1991.7), the 12 pastor Justin Kim Min-su (1991.7–1994.8), and the 13 pastor Andrew Cho Jae-yeong (1994.8–at the time of writing of the encyclopedia). The starting year of the 4th tenure is reproduced as given in the encyclopedia.

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, the church was completed on August 1958, Paul Hall was built on October 1963, and on November 1971 it was expanded to 3 stories while a convent and offices were newly built. On November 1985 interior renovation of the church was finished, and at that time the land was 43,435 pyeong and the floor area of the church and annex buildings was 457 pyeong.

Related Places and People

• Masan (Wolwol-dong) Parish: Namseong-dong Parish (then Gumasan Parish) was separated and established from this parish on July 1951 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Branched parishes: it assisted in establishing Sangnam (1967.1), Gaeumjeong (1977), Bansong-Yanggok (1981), Sapadong (1989) and Hogye (1991) parishes (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Yangdeok-dong Parish: it was designated as the new cathedral of the Diocese of Masan on February 1979 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Namseong-dong Parish ①” (Diocese of Masan, vol. 2). Establishment in 1951, name changes through Gumasan and Jungang Parishes, designation as cathedral, church construction, assistance to branch parishes, statistics, jurisdiction, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1041
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Namseong-dong” (Diocese of Masan). Establishment date 1952.06.16, patron St. Paul, Masan district zone 2, religious congregation, number of faithful, number of mission chapels.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001045&gubun=4