Cheolsan Catholic Church

Overview

Cheolsan Church is a church in Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Diocese of Suwon. It was separated and established from Gwangmyeong Parish on March 4, 1982, and its patron is the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary.

History

[Background of establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the Gwangmyeong-ri area adjacent to the boundary between Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, large housing complexes were developed from the early 1970s and the population surged. On July 1, 1981, Gwangmyeong-ri was merged with Cheolsan-ri, which had belonged to Seomyeon, Siheung-gun, and was elevated to Gwangmyeong-si, but this area had only Gwangmyeong Parish and could not accommodate the growing number of faithful, and as a large apartment complex was scheduled to be built in Cheolsan-dong, division of the parish became urgent. The Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia also writes that there was only one Catholic church in Gwangmyeong-si, Gwangmyeong Church, so it had reached its limits in terms of facilities and pastoral care, and as Cheolsan-dong was planned for development as a large apartment complex, new construction of Cheolsan Church could no longer be postponed.

[Establishment of the parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Shim Yeong-taek (Francis), the 2 pastor of Gwangmyeong Parish, with the help of the faithful, purchased 1,469 pyeong of land at San 63-2, Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, on January 14, 1981, and promoted the division of the parish (the Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that on the same day land at San 63, Cheolsan-dong, was purchased). With no church or rectory yet prepared, Kim Nam-su (Angelo), Bishop of Suwon, established Cheolsan Parish as of March 4, 1982, and appointed Father Jang Deok-ho as the first pastor. Father Jang Deok-ho prepared a temporary rectory with 650 ten thousand won supported by Gwangmyeong Parish and began pastoral ministry.

[Early activities and construction of the church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the early period when no church had yet been built, Mass was celebrated at the residence of the parish council president, and from November 1982 Mass was celebrated in a rented basement. In January 1983 the pastoral council was formed and in April the groundbreaking ceremony for the church was held (the Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that it was held on April 24, 1983, officiated by Bishop Kim Nam-su), in August of the same year a temporary underground church was completed and Mass began to be celebrated there, followed by construction of the main church. In February 1984 sisters belonging to the Sisters of Caritas were dispatched, and on August 30 of the following year the first curia of the parish, ‘Mystical Rose,’ was established. On October 20, 1989, construction of the new church was completed and the dedication ceremony was held, jointly officiated by Bishop Kim Nam-su and Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Ivan Dias. According to the Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia, in 1983 the pastoral council was formed (first president Park Yeong-ha) and in February 1989 the first assistant priest of the parish, Father Lee Seung-beom, took office.

[Separation of Haan Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Kim Chang-rin, the 2 pastor, as the number of faithful increased sharply, purchased 540 pyeong of land at 241, Haan-dong, in April 1991 and began the division of the parish, and for two days from October 17, 1992, at Cheolsan Parish and Gwangmyeong Civic Hall, held the 10 anniversary of the parish foundation and the commemorative celebration of the 40 anniversary of Father Kim Chang-rin’s priestly ordination. As the site was tied up as greenbelt land, church construction could not be carried out, and then as of February 6, 1996, Haan Parish was separated and established. The Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that when Father Kim Chang-rin took office as the 2 pastor on December 6, 1990, the parish strength exceeded 1 faithful, that on April 22, 1991, he purchased land at 241, Haan-dong, between Soha-dong and Cheolsan-dong, laying the framework for the new Haan Church, and that on October 18, 1992, the 10 anniversary of the foundation of Cheolsan Church was marked (the Encyclopedia records Father Kim Chang-rin’s tenure as from November 1990).

[After the late 1990s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Kim Chang-rin established the Philip scholarship from 1997 and awarded it every year on the Second Sunday of Easter to prospective seminarians, and on June 23, 1999, attended the 1 urban-rural parish sisterhood ceremony promoted by the Diocese of Suwon and formed a sisterhood with Gungri Parish. On December 11 of the same year, the 8 Catholic Choir Festival was held at the Grand Hall of Gwangmyeong Civic Hall. During the tenure of the 3 pastor, Father Lee Gwang-hui, on December 12, 2003, the parish photo club Bitgeurimhoe held a commemorative photo exhibition for the 10 anniversary of the club’s foundation at the exhibition hall of Gwangmyeong Civic Hall. The Encyclopedia writes that the parish, which had started with about 280 faithful at its foundation, had grown to 6,179 faithful as of 2003.

[Jurisdiction, statistics, and successive priests] The jurisdiction recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire area of Cheolsan 3 and 4-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, and part of Haan-dong. Church statistics are 500 faithful in 1982, 5,779 faithful in 1988, 14,837 faithful in 1994, and 6,179 faithful in 2003. The successive priests are the first Jang Deok-ho, Callistus (1982.3–1990.11), the 2 Kim Chang-rin, Philip (1990.11–2001.1), and the 3 Lee Gwang-hui, Gabriel (2001.1–). The Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that Cheolsan Church belongs to the Gwangmyeong District of the Ansan Vicariate in the Diocese of Suwon, that its jurisdiction is Cheolsan 3-dong, Cheolsan 4-dong, and part of Haan 1-dong, that the number of faithful is 7,839, and that the pastor is Father Kang Jeong-geun (Matthias).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Cheolsan Parish celebrated Mass in 1982 in a temporary rectory and the council president’s residence, and from November in a rented basement, completed a temporary underground church in August after the groundbreaking ceremony in April 1983, and on October 20, 1989, completed construction of the new church and held the dedication ceremony.

Related Places and People

• Gwangmyeong Parish: the mother parish from which Cheolsan Parish was separated. Shim Yeong-taek, the 2 pastor of Gwangmyeong Parish, promoted the parish division (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia).
• Haan Parish (1996.2): the parish separated and established from Cheolsan Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Gungri Parish: formed a sisterhood with Cheolsan Parish at the 1 urban-rural parish sisterhood ceremony in 1999 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Cheolsan Parish”. Establishment process and land purchase in 1982, early Mass locations, church dedication in 1989, separation of Haan Parish, activities after the late 1990s, statistics, and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5945
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Gwangmyeong Culture Encyclopedia “Cheolsan Church” (written by Choi Pan-hong). Background of division and new establishment, groundbreaking in 1983 and dedication in 1989, purchase of land in Haan-dong, jurisdiction and number of faithful.
   https://gwangmyeong.grandculture.net/gwangmyeong/toc/GC03100931