Cheongnyangni Catholic Church

Overview

Cheongnyangni Church is a parish belonging to the 7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District of the East Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Cheongnyangni-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it was separated and established from Jegi-dong Parish on April 5, 1955, and its patron is St. Lawrence. It is a parish founded by the faithful after the Korean War through the launch of the ‘Parish Construction Preparatory Committee,’ noted for separating Imun-dong and Jeonnong-dong (Dapsimni) Parishes and for establishing the parish cemetery ‘Dabol-san’ in Yangju-gun.

History

[Founding] After the end of the Korean War, the faithful in Cheongnyangni, Hwigyeong-dong, Imun-dong, Dapsimni, Jeonnong-dong and parts of Jegi-dong, which had been under the care of Jegi-dong Parish, launched the ‘Parish Construction Preparatory Committee’ to newly establish a parish in the Cheongnyangni district. Although the mother parish, Jegi-dong Parish, was itself newly founded and separation was difficult, efforts continued centered on the preparatory committee because the long distance made it hard for the faithful to attend Mass. With the support of Bishop Roh Ki-nam, a weaving factory owned by a faithful resident of Cheongnyangni (No. 617-2, Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, over 200 pyeong) was purchased to provide a site and temporary buildings, and the Vicariate of Seoul established Cheongnyangni Parish on April 5, 1955, appointing Father Lee Jong-soon, then assistant priest of Hyehwa-dong Parish, as the first pastor.

Father Lee Jong-soon stayed 6 months at the house of Dr. Lee Sung-nyeong (Thomas) and built a temporary church and rectory on the parish site, moving in on October 5. In September 1957 a church of 160 pyeong above ground and 120 pyeong underground was completed, and on November 9 the dedication ceremony was held with Bishop Roh Ki-nam presiding. The 2 pastor, Father Lee Gye-hang, repaid all the construction debt and secured the land (101.4 pyeong) on the site of the present rectory. The 3 pastor, Father Lee Sam-bok, secured a rectory (31.5 pyeong) and offices (2.5 pyeong) in July 1961, and, because of the inconvenience for faithful in distant places such as Dapsimni and Imun-dong, decided to newly establish a parish in Imun-dong, transferring 1,856 parishioners in December 1962.

[Growth] The 4 pastor, Father Cho In-won, founded and nurtured lay apostolate groups and provided confessionals and a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In December 1965 he separated Dapsimni (now Jeonnong-dong) Parish and established a parish cemetery (55,560 pyeong) in Junae-myeon, Yangju-gun, naming it ‘Dabol-san,’ and in July 1968 published the parish bulletin. Meanwhile, from December 8, 1957, 4 Sisters of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres built temporary buildings (30 pyeong) near the parish and began operating St. Paul Hospital, and 1 Sisters sent by the congregation helped run the parish Sunday school and evangelization work.

The 5 pastor, Father Cho In-hwan, devoted attention to fellowship among the faithful and re-education through pilgrimages to holy places, and in 1971 purchased 52,890 pyeong of land in Junae-myeon, Yangju-gun to expand the Dabol-san cemetery, and in 1972 newly built a convent (2 stories, 40 pyeong). The 6 pastor, Father Yu Yeong-do, opened a bypass access road in September 1979 to replace the Dabol-san cemetery access road that had been closed for 5 years, launched a cemetery management committee in January 1980, and received permission to expand the cemetery in October 1981. In 1980 he formed a ‘New Church Construction Committee’ and, without outside funding, built a new church (3 stories, 287.2 pyeong), holding the dedication ceremony in December 1981 with Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan presiding.

[Relocation of the church] The 7 pastor, Father Ahn Gyeong-ryeol, considered relocation because the parish location was skewed toward the boundary with the jurisdiction of Jeonnong-dong Parish and was adjacent to a red-light district, causing emotional and educational difficulties for the faithful. Upon hearing that the house of Dr. Lee Sung-nyeong, the first pastoral council president of the parish (the present parish site), was for sale, he received approval for the relocation of the church in September 1984. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in March 1987, and construction proceeded for 1 years and 5 months to complete a new church (787 pyeong), with the dedication ceremony held on July 30, 1988 with Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan presiding, and the parish relocated.

The 9 pastor, Father Nam Guk-hyeon, carried out soundproofing and convenience facility work on the church in April 1989 and held Bible study every Wednesday from 1993 onward. The 10 pastor, Father Cho Sun-chang, adopted a parish symbolic design through a contest for the 40 anniversary of the parish in March 1995, organized a youth Bible group in November, carried out the ‘The Parish Is Us’ program in June 1997, and the following March demolished the old credit union building to expand the church yard. The 11 pastor, Father Choi Yong-rok, worked on restoration when the Dabol-san cemetery was completely damaged by summer flooding in 1998, including finding the owners of graves from February of the following year to rebury them. The 12 pastor, Father Lee Ki-heon, held basic catechism, Bible and canon law lectures every Wednesday evening from October 1999 and began building the parish website in July 2000, opening it in December. The 13 pastor, Father Kwon Heung-sik, completed the 50 anniversary memorial hall, rectory and convent on April 6, 2002.

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the jurisdiction covers all of Cheongnyangni 1 and 2-dong, Jeonnong 1 and 2-dong, Dapsimni 3-dong, Yongdu-dong and Jegi 1-dong, and parts of Hoegi-dong. Parish statistics are 2,910 in 1958, 5,912 in 1962, 3,190 in 1972, 5,914 in 1982, 5,641 in 1992, and 4,203 in 2003. Successive pastors are the first, Father Lee Jong-soon, Lawrence (1955.4-1958.2), the 2, Father Lee Gye-hang, Peter (1958.2-1959.9), the 3, Father Lee Sam-bok, John (1959.9-1964.8), the 4, Father Cho In-won, Vincent (1964.8-1971.5), the 5, Father Cho In-hwan, Peter (1971.5-1976.5), the 6, Father Yu Yeong-do, Dionysius (1976.5-1982.8), the 7, Father Ahn Gyeong-ryeol, Thomas Aquinas (1982.8-1988.8), the 8, Father Lee Bong-u, Thomas Aquinas (1988.8-1989.2), the 9, Father Nam Guk-hyeon, John (1989.2-1994.8), the 10, Father Cho Sun-chang, Casimir (1994.8-1998.9), the 11, Father Choi Yong-rok, Francis Xavier (1998.9-1999.9), the 12, Father Lee Ki-heon, Peter (1999.9-2001.2), the 13, Father Kwon Heung-sik, Paul (2001.2-2002.9), and the 14, Father Jeon Jong-hun, Simon (2002.9-).

Architecture and space

After moving into the temporary church and rectory in October 1955, a church of 160 pyeong above ground and 120 pyeong underground was completed in September 1957. In December 1981 a new church of 3 stories and 287.2 pyeong was dedicated, and after approval for relocation in September 1984 and groundbreaking in March 1987, the present church with a scale of 787 pyeong was completed and dedicated on July 30, 1988. On April 6, 2002 the 50 anniversary memorial hall, rectory and convent were completed.

Faith meaning and visiting context

According to the Korean Catholic Directory, the congregation serving the parish is the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres. The parish has operated the ‘Dabol-san’ cemetery established in Yangju-gun, and when this cemetery was damaged by summer flooding in 1998, it devoted efforts to restoration the following year.

Related places and people

• Jegi-dong Parish: the mother parish from which Cheongnyangni Parish was separated in April 1955.
• Imun-dong Parish (December 1962) and Dapsimni (now Jeonnong-dong) Parish (December 1965): parishes separated from Cheongnyangni Parish.
• Dabol-san Cemetery: the parish cemetery established by the parish in 1965 in Junae-myeon, Yangju-gun.
• Dr. Lee Sung-nyeong: the owner of the house where the first pastor stayed 6 months and the first pastoral council president of the parish, and the site of his house is the present parish location.

References and sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Cheongnyangni Parish (Dongdaemun)”. Established on April 5, 1955, patron St. Lawrence, jurisdiction, background of establishment, construction and relocation of the church, Dabol-san cemetery, separation of parishes, successive pastors and parish statistics were confirmed.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5958
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Cheongnyangni”. District affiliation (7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District of the East Seoul Region), establishment date 1955.10.09, patron St. Lawrence, and Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres were confirmed. The encyclopedia gives the establishment date as April 5, 1955, so the two sources differ.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000234&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011