Byeongjeom Catholic Church

History & origins

Catholic history in the Byeongjeom area predates the establishment of the present parish. At the parish's silver-jubilee Mass in 2010, the Bishop of Suwon noted that a mission station belonging to Wangnim Parish existed in this area in 1913. This indicates that Catholics around Byeongjeom were already maintaining a community of faith around a mission station long before a formal parish was created. Because the earlier mission station and the modern parish were not necessarily the same administrative unit without interruption, the record is best understood as the prehistory of Catholic life in the area.

The present Byeongjeom Parish was established on December 3, 1985, with “Mother of the Savior” as its patron. Urbanization and population growth proceeded rapidly in the surrounding area after the parish was formed, and the Catholic community grew with them. Church facilities and parish organization were expanded, and Byeongjeom became a central parish serving several local Catholic population areas in eastern Hwaseong.

As Catholic numbers increased, the pastoral territory was divided again. The Diocese of Suwon's 25th-anniversary record confirms that Annyeong Parish separated from Byeongjeom in 2004 and Gisan Parish in 2006. In 2010, Byeongjeom, Annyeong, and Gisan celebrated a joint Mass and anniversary event, allowing the mother parish and its daughter parishes to look back together on twenty-five years of growth. This shows that the parish's development led not only to an increase in membership but also to the creation of new local Catholic communities.

Later that year, another silver-jubilee Mass was celebrated with the diocesan bishop, and the parish organized its memories through offerings of handwritten Scripture and a commemorative photo exhibition. The record also mentions the service of parishioners in connection with expansion of the church. The history of Byeongjeom therefore links the local prehistory of the 1913 mission station, the establishment of the parish in 1985, the birth of daughter parishes through urban growth, and the 25th-anniversary commemorations, reflecting the expansion of Catholic life in eastern Hwaseong.