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About this place
Pyeongtaek Catholic Church is a parish of the First Vicariate, Pyeongtaek District, in the Diocese of Suwon, under the patronage of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a center of Mass, the sacraments, catechesis, and parish community life in central Pyeongtaek, and it is also one of the parishes in the diocese that preserves a particularly long memory of Catholic life in the region.
The memory of its first pastor, Fr. Joseph Molimard, is an important part of the identity of the place. His grave and bust stand within the church grounds, keeping before the present community the life of a priest who evangelized in the region and bore witness to the faith. An old zelkova tree has likewise been presented as a symbolic feature that has shared in the long passage of parish time.
Pyeongtaek Catholic Church brings present parish life and historical memory together in one place. For Catholics it is both a setting for ordinary liturgy and sacramental life and a place to remember earlier witnesses of faith; for visitors interested in local history, it offers a way to understand the continuity and culture of memory within the Catholic community of Pyeongtaek.
History & origins
The history of Pyeongtaek Parish begins on April 14, 1928, when Fr. Joseph Molimard of the Paris Foreign Missions Society arrived as its first pastor. The community began as Bijeon-ri Parish, and on November 7 of the same year the newly built church was consecrated. This marked a major step in establishing a stable parish community and liturgical home in the Pyeongtaek area.
Fr. Molimard worked to expand the pastoral foundations of Catholic life around Pyeongtaek and also helped lay the groundwork for the growth of the nearby Seojeong-ri community. Diocesan records later identify Pyeongtaek as the mother parish of Seojeong-dong, showing the parish's role as a center from which Catholic life spread in the region.
The Korean War left a deep wound in this early history. Fr. Molimard was arrested by North Korean forces in 1950 and, after refusing demands to renounce his faith, was killed on September 26. His remains, moved several times over the following decades, were finally transferred back to Pyeongtaek Catholic Church in April 2003.
In 2008, Pyeongtaek Parish marked its 80th anniversary, while Seojeong-dong Parish, which had grown after separating from Pyeongtaek, marked its 70th. The fact that the anniversaries of the two parishes were highlighted in the same period shows how Catholic life in the Pyeongtaek area expanded from one central parish into communities serving new local living areas. In this sense, the history of Pyeongtaek Parish becomes clearer when it is understood not only as the internal chronology of one parish, but also as part of the growth of Catholic communities across the surrounding region.
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Diocese
Suwon Diocese (Diocese of Suwon)
Official website: http://www.casuwon.or.kr
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