Gwacheon Catholic Church

Overview

Gwacheon Church (Gwacheon Parish) is a parish of the Suwon Diocese, separated and established from Bisan-dong Parish on March 4, 1982. Its patron is the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Catholic Times introduce this parish as the first parish in the Gwacheon area.

History

Believers first began to live in the Gwacheon area around 1963. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Grandmother Gollomba, known as the first believer in the Gwacheon area, lived in Makgye-ri, Gwacheon-myeon, Gyeonggi-do (on the present site of Seoul Grand Park). As the number of believers increased, the jurisdictional parish, Hauhyeon Parish, carried out evangelization activities in the Gwacheon area, a Catholic mission chapel was established, and chapel services began in the house of a chapel believer.

According to the encyclopedia, full-scale evangelization began when President Yi Gwiyeong (Nikolao) of Hauhyeon Parish evangelized the area around Gwanmun-ri, Gwacheon-myeon, and including Yi Katarina, who moved here in 1970, 4 women believers began holding chapel services at the house of Ji Rosaria. With the help of catechetical guidance from the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary (noted in the encyclopedia as the 'Annunciation Convent'), who moved from Bucheon to Makgye-ri in 1967, the Gwacheon Catholic mission chapel grew rapidly in believers and moved to the house of Ji Jeomsun on March 10, 1973.

Jurisdiction changed several times. The encyclopedia states that the Gwacheon Catholic mission chapel had belonged to Jangnae-dong Parish and then, on October 4, 1978, became a mission chapel under the newly established Bisan-dong Parish. The Catholic Times reports that it became a mission chapel under Anyang Parish in 1974 and then under Bisan-dong Parish in 1978, and that from 1979 it was incorporated as the 20 district of Bisan-dong Parish and the mission chapel was closed.

As the development of the Gwacheon New Town progressed, the need for a new parish grew, and the diocese newly established Gwacheon Parish by official document on March 4, 1982, appointing Father Han Yeon-heum (Daniel) as the first pastor. According to the Catholic Times, the first Mass was offered at the house of a parishioner with more than 60 believers, and that house was used as a temporary rectory. After the diocese purchased land for the church, believers were able to offer Mass outdoors, and in December 1982 a tent for use as a temporary church was set up on the residential lot of a believer. The encyclopedia records that in April 1982, 227 pyeong of church land was purchased within Gwacheon Jugong Apartment Complexes 2 and 3, on December 11 a tent of about 50 pyeong was set up on a detached-house lot in Jungang-dong, and on May 26, 1983, 361 pyeong of church land was additionally purchased in a 2 acquisition.

On February 22, 1985, a convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was opened, and the encyclopedia records that on May 16, 1988, the remains of Saint Han Wonseo (Bedeuro) were solemnly transferred as part of a project to honor the martyrs. In 1989, the parish united choir participated as the only team from the diocese in the general division of the 44 National Choral Competition for Eucharistic Praise for the Seoul World Eucharistic Congress, hosted by the Seoul Archdiocese One Heart One Body Movement national headquarters, and won the grand prize (Cardinal Kim Suhwan Award), according to the Catholic Times.

The successive pastors, according to the encyclopedia (as of 1993), are the first Han Yeon-heum Daniel (1982. 3~1988. 2), the 2 pastor Hwang Gyu-cheol Bio (1988. 2~1990. 12), the 3 pastor Yi Jong-cheol Seutepano (1990. 12~1993. 6), and the 4 pastor Hwang Ik-seong Auguseutino (1993. 6~). The jurisdictional districts at the time of establishment were Jungang-dong, Byeolyang-dong, Burim-dong, Galhyeon-dong, Munhwa-dong, Gwacheon-dong, and Juam-dong in Gwacheon City.

Architecture and Space

The encyclopedia states that construction of a new reinforced concrete red-brick church with a total floor area of 943 pyeong began on March 25, 1984 and was completed on November 22, 1987. In contrast, the Catholic Times explains that church construction did not proceed in earnest until 1984 because the purchased land could not be rezoned and new land had to be found, and records that the new church was completed on November 27, 1986, so the two sources differ on the completion date. The Catholic Times reports that the church was designed with granite arches and a bell-tower form to symbolize 'the Lord's steadfast castle.'

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Catholic Times reports that as church construction and the development of the Gwacheon New Town were completed, the pastoral council was formally organized and small community gatherings and devotional and apostolic groups were invigorated. According to the same article, already in the 1990s the number of believers exceeded 10% of the population, and as of 2015 it was 14.85%, higher than the diocesan average of 10.98%. The encyclopedia records the number of believers as in 1982 778 believers, in 1985 4,306 believers, in 1989 7,739 believers, and in 1993 9,229 believers.

References and Sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia 'Gwacheon Parish.' Verified the establishment date, patron, jurisdictional districts, successive priests, mission chapel history, church land purchase and new construction, and church statistics.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/429
2. Catholic Times, "[Following the History of Parishes in the Diocese] Anyang Vicariate Gwacheon Parish" (2016. 10. 12). Verified changes in mission chapel jurisdiction, the background to the parish establishment, the temporary church, the completion date, the design concept, and the evangelization rate.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/201610120169226