Dobongsan Catholic Church

Overview

Dobongsan Church is a parish in the 6 Dobong-Gangbuk District, Central Seoul Region, of the Archdiocese of Seoul, established as the Dobong 1-dong parish in 1996 under the division plan of Dobong-dong Church. Its patron is the Sermon on the Mount. The parish homepage history records that on April 29, 2001 the new church was blessed and dedicated with Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk presiding.

History

[Preparation for division and establishment] According to “Parish History” on the parish homepage (former site), on October 9, 1995, under the diocese’s plan to divide Dobong-dong Church, at Dobong 1-dong 557, a church site of 610 pyeong was purchased for 15 hundred million won. On January 16, 1996 there was an instruction from the diocese concerning the division, on February 18 the “Dobongsan Church (tentative name)” church-building promotion committee was formed, and on March 8 the first parish priest Francis Xavier Kim Seung-cheol took office. On March 10 the first Mass for the establishment of the Dobong 1-dong parish was offered and regular work began. The parish status in the history lists the establishment date as March 10, 1996, and the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory lists the establishment date as 1996.02.23. The “Catholicism” entry in the Digital Dobong Culture Encyclopedia states that in February 1996 the Dobong 1-dong parish was erected.

[Temporary building and first bulletin] On March 18, 1996 construction of the temporary church building began. The history records the scale differently as 150 pyeong of building area in the summary and 250 pyeong in the year-by-year summary, and the dedication Mass for the completed temporary building on June 30 (presided by Bishop Kang U-il) is recorded as 210 pyeong in scale. On April 7 the parish’s first bulletin “Sermon on the Mount Church” was issued, from May 21 to June 28 visits to parishioners’ homes were made, and on November 10 the parish pastoral council was formed and appointed.

[Early pastoral care (1997~1999)] On January 18, 1997 there were elementary-school baptisms and first Communion, on March 1 the first evangelization sister Sister Mary Cecil Kim took office, on March 23 the first Baptism ceremony (51 persons), on September 23 the diocese’s first parish pastoral visit (Bishop Choe Chang-mu and 3 others), and on November 16 the 2 Baptism ceremony (57 persons). On June 14, 1998 the 1 Confirmation (presided by Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, 116 persons), on November 15 the 3 Baptism ceremony (79 persons), and on November 22 the formation and appointment of the 2 pastoral council followed. On February 9, 1999 the 2 evangelization sister Sister Anna Cecil Kim took office, on April 18 the “Sermon on the Mount Grand Bazaar” was held to raise funds for church construction, and there were the 2 Confirmation (presided by Bishop John Kim Ok-kyun, 71 persons) on June 13 and the 4 Baptism ceremony (106 persons) on August 15.

[Construction of the new church] The history states that in December 1996 prayers for the new church construction and per-household reserve accumulation began, and on February 26, 1998 Eom & Lee General Architecture began the design for the new church. On June 23, 1999 the design was reviewed and approved by the diocesan building committee, on September 5 the groundbreaking Mass and groundbreaking ceremony were held with Father Hwang Heung-bok, head of the 6 district, presiding, and on September 15 construction began with the parish directly operating the field office. On September 14, 2000 the completion inspection of the church building was approved, and on April 29, 2001 the dedication and blessing ceremony for the new church was held with Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk presiding.

[2000~2006] On September 26, 2000 the parish Happy Senior College opened, on October 23 the reading room, and on November 1 the after-school children’s class and computer class opened. On October 5, 2001 the 2 parish priest Father Benedict Choe Jeong-jin took office. In 2002, there were the Parish Day district sports festival in April, Confirmation on June 8 (presided by Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, 35 persons), completion of the entrance remodeling and outdoor rest area on October 18, formation of the 5 pastoral council on November 3, a synod discussion meeting on November 24, and the elementary, middle and high school Sermon on the Mount Festival on December 28. On February 14, 2006 the 3 parish priest Father John Baptist Kim Hun-gyeom took office.

[Building outline] According to the church guide on the parish homepage, the site is at Dobong 1-dong 557, 2,015㎡ (610 pyeong), building area 778.23㎡ (235 pyeong), building coverage ratio 38.52%, total floor area 2,808.40㎡ (850 pyeong). It has 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors, steel-framed reinforced concrete and steel-frame structure, maximum height 17.50 m, exterior finish of 24 mm reflective glass, and parking for 29 cars. By floor, the basement 1 floor has the great hall, 6 catechesis rooms, 2 teachers’ rooms and others, the above-ground 1 floor has the convent, office, reading room, computer education room, after-school classroom, pastoral meeting room, religious-goods shop and others, the above-ground 2 floor has the church (400 seats), infant room, playroom and the pastor’s rectory, and the above-ground 3 floor has the choir loft (135 seats) and the assistant priest’s and cook’s rectory, as introduced.

[Parish status] The parish status on the homepage lists the patron as “Sermon on the Mount”, the jurisdiction as parts of Dobong 1-dong, Dobong 2-dong and Howon-dong in Uijeongbu, and the district-group count as 12 districts and 63 groups. It gives the number of faithful as of December 2002 as 2,777 persons (men 1,122, women 1,655) in 1,042 households. The homepage main page carries the parish motto “Higher than the sky, deeper than the earth, wider than the sea, hotter than a furnace”. The Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory lists 3,156 faithful, 0 Catholic mission chapels, and parish priest Father Pius Kim Yeong-ho.

[Pastors] The pastors page on the former homepage lists the first parish priest Francis Xavier Kim Seung-cheol (March 8, 1996–October 4, 2001), the 2 Benedict Choe Jeong-jin (October 5, 2001–February 13, 2006), and the 3 John Baptist Kim Hun-gyeom (from February 14, 2006, as of the former homepage).

Jurisdiction and affiliation

The Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference online directory lists the affiliated diocese as the Archdiocese of Seoul, the region-district as Central Seoul Region 6 Dobong-Gangbuk District, the English name as Dobongsan Catholic Church, the establishment date as 1996.02.23, and the patron as Sermon on the Mount.

Related places and persons

• Dobong-dong Church: Under the diocese’s plan to divide Dobong-dong Church, the Dobong 1-dong parish was established. The Digital Dobong Culture Encyclopedia states that on August 1, 1968 Anna Lee Hak-sil at Dobong-dong 98 offered the first joint Mass in this area with 22 faithful, and that Dobong-dong Church was built through land donation by the Association for the Deceased of Myeong-dong Parish.
• Bishop Kang U-il, Bishop Choe Chang-mu, Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Bishop John Kim Ok-kyun and Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung: They appear in the history as presiders of the temporary-building dedication Mass, the pastoral visit and Confirmations.
• Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk: He presided at the dedication and blessing of the new church on April 29, 2001.

References and sources

1. Dobongsan Church (former homepage), “Parish History”. Parish status, summary (1995~2006), year-by-year summary (1996~2002).
   http://church.catholic.or.kr/tobong1/html/info_hst.htm
2. Dobongsan Church (former homepage), “Pastors”. First to 3 parish priests and terms of office.
   http://church.catholic.or.kr/tobong1/html/info_pst.htm
3. Dobongsan Church (former homepage), “Exterior view and church guide” church guide. Site and building scale and use by floor.
   http://church.catholic.or.kr/tobong1/html/info_chr.htm
4. Digital Dobong Culture Encyclopedia, “Catholicism”. Changes of Catholic churches in Dobong-gu and erection of the Dobong 1-dong parish in February 1996.
   http://www.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04901093
5. Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference online directory, “Dobongsan”. Affiliated diocese and district, establishment date, patron, number of faithful, parish priest.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000079&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011