Bangbae 4-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Bangbae4-dong Church is a parish belonging to Seocho District No. 12 in the West Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. It was established on September 25, 1998, after separating from Bangbae-dong Church, and its patron is Mary conceived without original sin (the Immaculate Conception). The Congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help maintains a branch house in the parish.

History

[Period as a mission chapel under Yakhyeon Parish] According to the brief history in the parish introduction, the faith community in this area traces back to a Catholic mission chapel under Yakhyeon Parish. Around 1920, the mission chapels under Yakhyeon Parish included the Geri mission chapel (near present-day Yangjae-dong) and the Seoripul mission chapel (in present-day Seocho-dong), and after liberation, as church strength grew, several small mission chapels were established in the Gangnam area in 1947. Afterwards, believers around Isu Bridge and Banpo attended Myeongsu Cathedral in Heukseok-dong, while believers around Sadang-dong attended Sadang-dong Church. As the number of believers grew, Banpo Church was established in 1976, and in 1982, Bangbae-dong Church was separated and established from Banpo Church.

[Separation and establishment as a parish] As the number of believers at Bangbae-dong Church exceeded 1 ten thousand people, it was separated as Bangbae4-dong Church. The parish introduction states the completion date of the new church building as August 8, 1998, and that the first Mass was celebrated by Father Choi Jun-ung Barnabas, pastor of Bangbae-dong Church, and the same text also states that the new church was completed on August 31, 1998, 2 years and 4 months after the formation of the construction promotion committee on May 17, 1996. The history board records formation of the parish construction promotion committee on May 17, 1996, signing of a contract with Geumok Construction and start of construction on August 27, 1997, groundbreaking ceremony and groundbreaking Mass celebrated by Bishop Choi Chang-mu on August 30, 1997, and completion of the new church building with 2 basement floors and 2 above-ground floors on August 31, 1998. The parish was established on September 25, 1998, the first pastor Father Jo Hyeong-gyun John the Apostle took office on October 9, and the Sunday school opened in November. The new church building is described as 366 pyeong of land and 746 pyeong of floor area.

[Early activities] The first meeting of the inaugural pastoral council was held on January 8, 1999, and on January 31 the parish patron was proclaimed as ‘Mary conceived without original sin’ (Mary Immaculate). On February 18, the first branch superior Sister Georgia Yi of the Congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and a mission sister took office. In March, the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Mothers Association, Marian Association, and senior Legion of Mary were newly established, on May 30 the parish first baptism (69 persons) took place, and on December 3 the first assistant priest Father Kim Hak-su Pius took office. On October 8, 2000, zones and groups were reorganized into 13 zones and 53 groups, and in December the parish first priest Father Park Chang-yeop Fabian was ordained (his diaconate ordination in July 1999 had been at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena).

[Church expansion] 3 years after the parish establishment, as Mass space and catechism classrooms became insufficient, expansion and renovation were pursued. On March 11, 2001, a construction committee for church expansion was formed (the history board records it as launch of the construction committee in March), and on December 16 Han-ol General Construction was selected as the contractor for the expansion. Expansion work began on February 1, 2002, demolishing the church exterior walls, lower part, and passageways, and in May the priests of District No. 12 donated to the parish expansion fund. The church building was completed in May 2003, and on June 15 a dedication ceremony for the new church celebrated by Archbishop Jeong Jin-seok Nicholas was held. The parish introduction states that on May 31, 2003, through expansion work it was reborn as a building with 366 pyeong of land and 1,184 pyeong of building, with 2 basement floors and 4 above-ground floors. Afterwards followed the blessing of a new statue of Mary in the grand sanctuary on the 4th floor on April 29, 2016, the completion blessing of the rooftop garden in September 2019 (on September 22) and confirmation of the rooftop garden name as ‘Joseph Garden’ on October 13, the blessing of the renovated and expanded ‘Mary Garden’ cafe on October 19, and completion of church renovation and start of operation of a new elevator on December 16.

[Commemorative events and major history] On September 21, 2008, a thanksgiving Mass for the 10th anniversary of the parish establishment was held, and on December 25 the ‘Parish 10-Year History’ was published. On December 9, 2007, the parish homepage was opened. In 2013, there was a parish-wide pilgrimage to a holy site (Baeron, Chungbuk) commemorating the 15th anniversary of the parish establishment. On October 21, 2018, a Mass commemorating the 20th anniversary of the parish establishment was celebrated, and on October 24 a 20th-anniversary lecture was held. On September 24, 2023, there was the 25st anniversary commemoration (parish day commemorative Mass). On April 5, 2020, due to COVID-19, Masses were suspended indefinitely, and from Palm Sunday weekly Mass homily videos were produced, and on May 23, 2021, non-face-to-face YouTube broadcasts were transmitted for the first time.

[Successive pastors] The pastors listed on the history board are the 1th Jo Hyeong-gyun John the Apostle (took office on October 9, 1998), the 2th Jo Sun-chang Casimir (took office on September 16, 2003), the 3th Na Won-gyun Paul Msgr. (took office on June 10, 2008), the 4th Choe Dong-jin Bernard (took office on August 27, 2013), the 5th Lee Dong-ik Remigius (took office on August 28, 2018), and the 6th Jeon Je-deok Paul (took office on September 5, 2023). The same board lists Father Kim Yeon-beom Anthony taking office and Father Jeon Je-deok Paul leaving on September 1, 2026, and the parish introduction page also lists the pastor as Kim Yeon-beom Anthony.

Jurisdiction and Affiliation

The parish introduction page lists the jurisdiction as Bangbaebon-dong, Bangbae 4-dong, and Banpo 4-dong area, 17 zones and 81 groups, and 7,200 faithful (the introductory text mentions 4,000-odd faithful at the time of establishment). The Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea online directory lists the affiliated diocese as Archdiocese of Seoul, region and district as West Seoul Region, Seocho District No. 12, establishment date 1998.09.25, religious congregation as Congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patron as Immaculate Conception, number of faithful as 8,068, and number of mission chapels as 0.

Related Places and People

• Bangbae-dong Church: it is the mother parish of the 1998 parish separation.
• Banpo Church: it is the parish established in 1976 that separated Bangbae-dong Church in 1982.
• Yakhyeon Parish: it is the parish that had jurisdiction over mission chapels in this area around 1920.
• Congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help: it has maintained a branch house in the parish since the first branch superior sister took office on February 18, 1999.
• Father Jo Hyeong-gyun John the Apostle: he is the first parish priest.
• Father Park Chang-yeop Fabian: he is the first priest ordained from the parish (December 2000).

References and Sources

1. Bangbae4-dong Church, “Parish Introduction” (Brief history of Bangbae4-dong Church). From the mission chapel period under Yakhyeon Parish to separation, church completion and expansion, establishment date, patron saint, jurisdiction.
   https://www.bb4c.or.kr/theme/daontheme_business01/html/company/intro.php
2. Bangbae4-dong Church, “Parish History”. Year-by-year history for 1996–2026 (construction promotion committee, groundbreaking, establishment, successive pastors, expansion, commemorative events).
   https://www.bb4c.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=history
3. Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea online directory, “Bangbae4-dong”. Affiliated diocese and district, establishment date 1998.09.25, patron, religious congregation, number of faithful.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000115&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011