Sinheung-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Sinheung-dong Church is a church in Sinheung-dong, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Diocese of Suwon. On September 6, 1984, as part of a project commemorating the 200 anniversary of the founding of the Korean Catholic Church, it was established as the fifth parish in the Seongnam area, separated from Sujin-dong Parish and Dandae-dong Parish, and its patron is the Queen of Martyrs.

History

〔Establishment of the parish〕 According to the Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia, Sinheung-dong Church was established on September 6, 1984 as the fifth parish in the Seongnam area as part of a project commemorating the 200 anniversary of the founding of the Korean Catholic Church, and 964 faithful from part of the Sujin-dong Church area and part of the Dandae-dong Church area newly joined it (the Encyclopedia gives the number of Sujin-dong Church faithful as 1,226, while the Dictionary of Korean Catholicism gives 1,266). The Dictionary of Korean Catholicism gives the date of establishment as September 6, 1984, and the transferred faithful as 1,266 from Sujin-dong Parish and 964 from Dandae-dong Parish. At the time of establishment, there was a church site but no building, so stores in the surrounding area were leased and used for more than 2 years (Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia).

〔Period of the temporary church and the site problem〕 According to the Dictionary of Korean Catholicism, the first pastor, Father Bae Yeong-seop, unable to provide a church and a rectory, first leased, at Taepyeong 2-dong, No. 3309-21, on the 2 floor, a building of 19 pyeong nearby and used it as the rectory and temporary church, celebrating weekday Masses there, while Sunday Masses were too crowded and had to be celebrated on the church site. As elderly people and children found the outdoor Mass difficult, in July 1985 he obtained the Sinheung Market building on a lease and moved the church there. The original church site was incorporated into a park site owing to a change in Seongnam City planning, so the present church site was received instead, but this site was also in a development-restricted area and construction was impossible; after efforts including the parish submitting a petition to the government, it was released from the development-restricted area.

〔Construction and dedication of the church〕 According to the Dictionary of Korean Catholicism, the groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 20, 1986, and while construction was under way the number of faithful increased and ministry became difficult even in the Sinheung Market building, so on July 30 of that year the church moved to a basement at Sinheung 2-dong, No. 30-5, and on November 24, when the basement of the new church was completed, the church moved there. Afterwards the rectory and the convent inside the church were completed, and in July 1988 2 Sisters of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were sent and began to help with parish ministry. After more than 5 years, on February 15, 1991, a church with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors, measuring more than 560 pyeong, was completed, and on December 8 of the same year the dedication ceremony was celebrated with Bishop Kim Nam-su (Angelo) presiding. The Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia also records that the church building was completed on February 15, 1991, after more than 5 years from the start of construction, and that during that time the faithful suffered difficulties celebrating Mass and holding meetings in the unfinished building.

〔After the 1990 decade〕 According to the Dictionary of Korean Catholicism, as an apartment complex was built in Sinheung-dong and the number of faithful surged, the 2 pastor, Father Jo Gyu-sik, reorganized the districts into 37. From May 1993 meals were provided for hungry and marginalized elderly people, and in February 1997 a pipe organ was installed for the first time in the Diocese of Suwon (the Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia also records these two facts). The Encyclopedia records that after the 3 pastor, Father Hwang Ik-seong, retired owing to poor health, Father Kim Yu-sin, who took office as the 4 pastor in January 2000, carried out a campaign to find lost sheep and a campaign to find new families.

〔The 2010 decade〕 According to the Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia, on August 30, 2010, there was a farewell Mass for Father No Hui-cheol (Peter), and on September 5 there was a welcome Mass for pastor Father Choe Jae-pil (Andrew) and assistant priest Father Lee Geon-uk (Clement). On January 10, 2015, Father Seo Jong-min (Baor), the 9 pastor, took office, and on November 10, 2017, pastor Father Pyo Chang-yeon (Francis), the 10 pastor, took office. As of 2024, the jurisdiction covers the entire Sinheung Jugong Apartment, Sinheung 2-dong, Sinheung 3-dong, Taepyeong 4-dong and Changgok-dong in Sujeong-gu, as well as parts of Taepyeong 2-dong and Bokjeong-dong (Angol).

〔Jurisdiction, church statistics and successive priests (Dictionary of Korean Catholicism)〕 The jurisdiction given by the Dictionary covers all of Taepyeong 4-dong, Sinheung 2 and 3-dong, and Dandae 4-dong, as well as parts of Taepyeong 2-dong and Bokjeong-dong. Church membership was 2,215 in 1984, 3,814 in 1989, 5,519 in 1994, 5,821 in 1997, and 5,945 in 1999. The successive priests were the first, Bae Yeong-seop Peter (1984.9–1992.9), the 2, Jo Gyu-sik Joseph (1992.9–1997.2), the 3, Hwang Ik-seong Augustine (1997.2–2000.1), and the 4, Kim Yu-sin Thomas Aquinas (2000.1–).

Architecture and Space

According to the Dictionary of Korean Catholicism, the new church of Sinheung-dong Church, begun in a basement at Sinheung 2-dong, No. 30-5, was completed on February 15, 1991 with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors, measuring more than 560 pyeong, and was dedicated on December 8, 1991. In February 1997 a pipe organ was installed for the first time in the Diocese of Suwon.

Related Places and People

• Sujin-dong Parish and Dandae-dong Parish: the mother parishes from which Sinheung-dong Parish was separated (Dictionary of Korean Catholicism).
• Sinheung Market building: the building used as the temporary church from July 1985 to July 1986 (Dictionary of Korean Catholicism).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Dictionary of Korean Catholicism, “Sinheung-dong Parish”. Establishment in 1984 and transferred faithful, temporary church and site problem, church construction and dedication in 1986–1991, pipe organ, jurisdiction, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4001
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia, “Sinheung-dong Church” (written by Yun Yong-bok and Jo Nam-du). Background of establishment and transferred faithful, completion in 1991, parish priests in the 2010 decade, jurisdiction as of 2024.
   https://seongnam.grandculture.net/seongnam/toc/GC00101403