Budnae Catholic Church

Overview

Beodeunae Church is a church belonging to Gwonseon District, Vicariate 1, Diocese of Suwon, located at 20, Deokyeong-daero 1152-gil, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do (Seryu-dong). It was established on February 14, 1997 with Maegyo-dong Church as its mother parish, and celebrated the dedication of its new church on September 26, 1998. Its patron is St. Paul Jeong Hasang, and the parish name derives from the place name called ‘Beodeunae (柳川),’ so named because willow trees were abundant along the stream.

History

[Establishment and name] The parish introduction on the Beodeunae Church website states that this church, belonging to the Diocese of Suwon, was established on February 14, 1997. It explains that its jurisdiction covers Seryu 2-dong and Seryu 3-dong, with no apartment complexes in the district and consisting almost entirely of detached houses. The parish overview lists Maegyo-dong Church as the mother parish and affiliation as Vicariate 1. The parish information on the Suwon Diocese website also lists it as belonging to Gwonseon District, Vicariate 1, with date of establishment February 14, 1997 and patron St. Paul Jeong Hasang (feast September 20).

[Patron] According to the parish introduction, the patron is St. Paul Jeong Hasang (1795–1839.9.22), son of Jeong Yak-jong (1760–1801.2.26), who was martyred during the Gihae Persecution and was canonized on May 1984 by Pope John Paul II 2. The website explains that the parish logo consists of a central cross (martyrdom for Christ Jesus), the image of St. Paul Jeong Hasang inside the cross, the numbers of the saint’s life years at the bottom, three circles (sanctified through martyrdom and passion), and outer light (light evangelizing the world). On September 2, 2022, a statue of the parish patron Paul Jeong Hasang was installed.

[The 1990s: approval and construction of a new church] The parish chronology states that on February 14, 1997 ‘Beodeunae St. Paul Jeong Hasang Church’ of the Diocese of Suwon was approved and Father Choi Gyeong-nam (Benedict) took office as the first pastor. On May 25, 1997, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church was held with the Mayor of Suwon and a National Assembly member in attendance, and on February 12, 1998 Sisters Hong Helena and Choi Hyo-gyeong were assigned to the parish. On May 27, 1998 the final inspection of the completed new church was finished, and on September 26, 1998 Bishop Choi Deok-gi (Paul) celebrated the dedication of the new church. On January 14, 1999 there was the diaconal ordination of seminarian Kang Gyeong-gi (Joseph) of the parish, and on January 14, 2000 the priestly ordination of Deacon Kang Gyeong-gi was celebrated.

[The 2000s] According to the chronology, on January 29, 2002 the first pastor, Father Choi Gyeong-nam, was transferred to Songtan Church and Father Kang Sang-geun (Peter) took office as the 2 pastor. In 2003, interior ceiling scaffold work and electrical wiring work in the church (April 1) and insulation repair work in the rectory (May 6) were carried out. On October 1, 2004 Father Kang Sang-geun was transferred to Gwangnam Church and Father Park Hyeon-jun (Dominic) took office as the 3 pastor, and on April 13, 2005 Bishop Lee Yong-hun (Matthias) made a pastoral visit to the parish. On September 9, 2005 there was the priestly ordination of Father Lee Nam-su (Joseph) (Father Lee Nam-su had received diaconal ordination on July 2, 2004). On July 22, 2006 and September 4 the contract for purchase of the site for a new education hall and the payment of the balance and transfer of ownership took place, and on September 26, 2006 Father Park Hyeon-jun was transferred to the Yongin Vicariate office and Father Jo Yeong-jun (F. Xavier) took office as the 4 pastor. On June 1, 2007 the rosary prayer and Bible transcription connected with the 10th anniversary of the parish establishment began, and on October 28 the 10st anniversary event of the establishment was held, and in the same year from October 1 to the 28th the parish main-gate construction was carried out. From February 19, 2008 a 40-day fasting prayer campaign for finding new families was held, and on September 18, 2008 a mission vehicle for the parish was purchased. On April 18, 2009 road signs for the church were installed, and on July 13, 2009 soundproofing work in the confessional began.

[First half of the 2010s] On February 8, 2010 carcinogenic asbestos materials were removed and replaced with asbestos-free materials (6 places besides the office), and on June 20, 2010 an all-parishioners pilgrimage (309 people, to Yanggeun Shrine) was made. On September 12, 2010 repair work on the church roof tiles damaged by Typhoon Gonpas was carried out. On January 6, 2011 the church and rectory security system was replaced and 7 CCTV cameras were installed, and on July 11, 2011 Deacon Kim Myeong-gyeom (John the Apostle) received diaconal ordination as a member of the Franciscan Order. On August 19, 2011 Father Jo Yeong-jun was transferred to Jeongja-dong Cathedral and Father Kim Ji-ung (Augustine) took office as the 5 pastor (August 30). On September 23, 2012 the 15th anniversary one-heart sports festival of the parish establishment was held on the playground of Namsuwon Elementary School. On January 16, 2013 the small-community districts and groups were readjusted from 13 districts and 34 groups to 12 districts and 28 groups, and on December 26, 2013 2 display cases for the hand-copied Bibles of all parishioners commemorating the 15th anniversary of the parish establishment and the 50th anniversary of the diocese establishment were made (the chronology also records storage on March 6, 2013 of display cases for the hand-copied Bibles of all parishioners commemorating the 50th anniversary of the diocese establishment). On June 17, 2014 Father Kim Ji-ung was transferred to Bibong Church and Father Ahn Jun-seong (Matthias) took office as the 6 pastor. On August 16, 2014 37 people participated in the beatification Mass at Gwanghwamun Square.

[Second half of the 2010s] On July 13, 2015 90 people attended the priestly ordination of Father Kim Myeong-gyeom (John the Apostle), a son of the parish (at the Franciscan Hall in Jeong-dong, Seoul). On September 20, 2015 the 18rd Parish Day event was held as an outdoor Mass (378 people). On April 3, 2016 Vicar General Bishop Mun Hui-jong (John the Baptist) celebrated his first visitation Mass, and on September 17, 2017 the 20th Parish Day one-heart sports festival (at Majung Park) and on September 23 a small concert (with 60 performers) were held. On November 5, 2017 Vicar General Bishop Lee Seong-hyo (Linus) visited the parish and celebrated the parish Mass. On May 15, 2018 the parish’s first overseas pilgrimage (to Italy and Israel, 66 people) took place, and on June 26, 2018 Father Ahn Jun-seong was transferred to Gian Church and Father Go Seong-eun (John the Apostle) took office as the 7 pastor. On August 1, 2019 the parish junior, middle and high school Sunday schools went on a pilgrimage to shrines in China (Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou, 25 people including the priest), and on December 5, 2019 parishioners attended the diaconal ordination of Deacon Ji Seung-hun (Joseph).

[The 2020s] On November 10, 2020 Father Kim Min-hwi (John the Baptist) took office as the 8rd pastor, and on December 4, 2020 Ji Seung-hun (Joseph) of the parish was ordained a priest and celebrated his first Mass on December 6 by broadcast on YouTube. On December 2020 sound and video equipment was installed in the church and operation of the parish YouTube broadcast began (December 19). On February 21, 2021, during the pastoral visit of Vicar General Bishop Lee Seong-hyo, 167 signed ‘digital fasting pledges’ were offered, and on April 25, 2021 operation of the parish website (bdnsd.or.kr) began, and on December 31, 2021 nameplates listing successive pastors and priests from the parish were installed. On September 26, 2021 the offering of rosaries by all parishioners commemorating the 25th anniversary of the parish establishment (with a goal of 25 ten thousands) began, and on October 10, 2021 the theme verse (Matthew 28,20) was chosen. In 2022, church electrical work from March 3 to the 29th, church roof work from March 22 to May 26, sound-system replacement from April 25 to the 30th, and restroom remodeling from May 11 to June 1 were carried out. There were a marriage-renewal ceremony commemorating the 25st anniversary of the establishment on May 22, 2022 (24 couples), an offering of rosaries by all parishioners on August 28 (522,339 rosaries), confirmation by Bishop Choi Deok-gi (Paul) on September 4 (24 people), a special lecture by the first pastor Father Choi Gyeong-nam on September 11, an anniversary Mass for the 25th anniversary of the establishment by the vicar general on September 18, and on October 20 the parish website was newly rebuilt.

[Successive pastors] According to the clergy page, the pastors are the 1st Choi Gyeong-nam (Benedict, 1997.2.14–2002.1.29), the 4th Jo Yeong-jun (F. Xavier, 2006.9.26–2011.8.30), the 5nd Kim Ji-ung (Augustine, 2011.8.30–2014.6.17), the 6th Ahn Jun-seong (Matthias, 2014.6.17–2018.6.26), the 8th Kim Min-hwi (John the Baptist, 2020.11.10–2023.12.8), and the 9st Lee In-seok (Hero, 2023.12.8–present). Not on this page, the 2rd Kang Sang-geun (Peter), the 3th Park Hyeon-jun (Dominic), and the 7th Go Seong-eun (John the Apostle) are recorded in the parish chronology with their arrivals and departures.

Related places and people

• Maegyo-dong Church: It is the mother parish of Beodeunae Church (parish overview on the Beodeunae Church website).
• Priests from the parish: Father Lee Nam-su (Joseph) (ordained 2005.9.9), Father Kim Myeong-gyeom (John the Apostle) (ordained 2015.7.13), and Father Ji Seung-hun (Joseph) (ordained 2020.12.4) are listed on the clergy page of the website as priests from the parish. Separately from this, the chronology records the diaconal ordination of seminarian Kang Gyeong-gi (Joseph) on January 14, 1999 and his priestly ordination on January 14, 2000.
• St. Paul Jeong Hasang: He is the patron. He was martyred during the Gihae Persecution and was canonized on May 1984 (parish introduction).

References and sources

1. Beodeunae Church website, parish history. Approval in 1997 and the first pastor, groundbreaking, completion and dedication of the church in 1997–1998, arrivals and departures of pastors, 10, 15, 20 and 25th anniversary events of the establishment, ordinations of priests from the parish, and facility work in the 2020s.
   http://bdnsd.or.kr/history
2. Beodeunae Church website, parish introduction. Date of establishment, origin of the place name, jurisdiction, patron Paul Jeong Hasang, mother parish Maegyo-dong Church, and meaning of the parish logo.
   http://bdnsd.or.kr/info
3. Beodeunae Church website, clergy. Terms of successive pastors and ordination dates of priests from the parish.
   http://bdnsd.or.kr/priest
4. Diocese of Suwon, parish information “Beodeunae”. Belonging to Gwonseon District, Vicariate 1, date of establishment February 14, 1997, and patron St. Paul Jeong Hasang (feast September 20).
   https://www.casuwon.or.kr/parish/parish/2?church=%EB%B2%84%EB%93%9C%EB%82%B4&serial=13007