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About this place
Wolyeong Catholic Church is a parish in the second pastoral area of the Masan District of the Diocese of Masan. It is a central church where Catholics in the New Masan area celebrate Mass and the sacraments, receive catechesis, and participate in parish community life. The Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea records St. James the Apostle as the parish patron and confirms Wolyeong’s status as an independent parish rather than a mission station.
The parish has accompanied a Catholic community that took shape as the residential areas of New Masan expanded. The present name Wolyeong and the current church express the continuity of a parish that became rooted amid changes in the surrounding living area, serving as a pastoral point through which nearby Catholics remain connected with the Church in everyday life.
History & origins
The founding of Wolyeong Parish was shaped by the urban transformation of the New Masan area. According to diocesan records, a thermal power plant was closed after 1982, large-scale land reclamation began in 1985, and apartment development followed the relocation of an army hospital, bringing population growth. As a result, the need for a new church increased because Wolnam-dong Parish alone could no longer adequately serve the expanding Catholic population.
Fr. Benedict Jang Byeong-uk, then assigned to Wolnam-dong Parish, developed a plan for a new church and consulted with the diocesan offices. In November 1996, the plan to establish the sixth church in Masan District 2 was approved and a site was secured. On this foundation, Haeun-dong Parish was established on January 20, 1998; this was the beginning of the community now known as Wolyeong Parish.
At the time the parish was established, there was not yet a completed church building. Its first pastor, Fr. James Yoo Young-bong, began his ministry from a room previously used by the assistant priest of Wolnam-dong Parish. In March 1998 a general meeting of the church-building committee developed the construction plan, and on April 5 a prefabricated structure was enlarged into a temporary church and dedicated, giving the new parish community in New Masan a concrete place of worship.
The parish was originally called Haeun-dong Catholic Church and was later renamed Wolyeong Catholic Church. Its development illustrates how pastoral boundaries were adjusted in response to urban development and population movement, with the parish community beginning before it possessed a permanent church and gradually securing the space needed for its life.
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Masan Diocese (Diocese of Masan)
Official website: https://cathms.kr
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