Jungsan Church

Overview

Jungsan Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu, located on Jungsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was established by division from Ilsan Parish on October 5, 2001, with St. Paul the Apostle as its patron. The present church building was begun on October 1, 2006 and completed on March 31, 2008, and the dedication ceremony of the new church was held on December 14, 2008.

History

[Division and establishment] The introduction on the Jungsan Church website states that Jungsan Church honors “St. Paul the Apostle” as its patron and was divided from Ilsan Parish on October 5, 2001. The church history records the establishment of Jungsan Parish on October 5, 2001 and the appointment of the 1th parish priest, Fr. Won Chung-yeon Raymond. The Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory also lists the date of establishment as 2001.10.5. On September 21, 2004, the 2th parish priest, Fr. Kim Yu-cheol John Bosco, and the associate priest, Fr. An Seong-nam Andrew, took office.

[Construction of the church building] According to the church history, the preparatory committee for church construction was launched on January 7, 2005, and the church construction committee was launched on August 1, 2006. Construction of the temporary church (tent church) was completed on September 3, 2006, and the groundbreaking Mass for the church was offered on September 24. A youth Mass was newly established on March 7, 2007, and the first Christmas Eve Mass was offered in the new church on December 24, 2007. After the Holy Hour on December 4, 2008, the Blessed Sacrament was enshrined in the adoration chapel, and the dedication ceremony of the new church was held on December 14. The introduction page states that the church in its present form was begun on October 1, 2006 and completed on March 31, 2008.

[Changes of parish priests] The church history records the appointment on September 12, 2008 of the 3th parish priest, Fr. Lee Gyu-seop Stephen, and associate priest Fr. Choi In-hyeok Pius; the appointment on September 6, 2011 of the 4th parish priest, Fr. Yu Byeong-man Gabriel; the appointment on September 6, 2016 of the 5th parish priest, Fr. Nam Deok-hui Peter; the appointment on February 18, 2020 of the 6th parish priest, Fr. Shin Jung-ho Peter; and the appointment on February 8, 2022 of parish priest Fr. Namgung Gyeong Albert. The clergy/religious page lists Fr. Namgung Gyeong Albert as the 7th parish priest (date of appointment 2023-02-21), and gives the appointment date of Lee Gyu-seop Stephen as 2008-09-21 and that of Yu Byeong-man Gabriel as 2011-09-21, differing in chronology and dates from the history. As cooperating priests, from the 1th, Fr. Yu Gyeong-jae Joseph (2012-09-04) to the 7th, Fr. Kim Seung-beom John the Apostle (2024-02-15), and as associate priests, up to the 10th, Fr. Lee Min-hyeok Matthew (2025-02-18), are listed on this page.

[Parish events] The chronology records the all-parishioners walking shrine pilgrimage (Jeoldusan) on April 19, 2009, the train shrine pilgrimage to Nabawi for the 10th anniversary of the parish foundation on November 13, 2011, the diocesan bishop’s pastoral visit on November 13, 2012, the walking pilgrimage to Haengjusanseong Fortress (Haengju Church) on October 19, 2014, the silver jubilee celebration of the 25th anniversary of priestly ordination of parish priest Fr. Yu Byeong-man Gabriel on April 12, 2015, the diocesan bishop’s pastoral visit (1 nights and 2 days) on December 9, 2017, the Parish Day event (pilgrimage for peace and reconciliation in the DMZ) on October 14, 2018, the photo exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the parish foundation on October 3, 2021, the sisterhood affiliation with Yeoncheon Church on March 23, 2022, the diocesan bishop’s pastoral visit on April 30, 2022, and the music festival commemorating Parish Day on October 15, 2023.

[Vocations] According to the chronology, on February 1, 2017 there were the priestly ordination of Simon Han Jong-hun and the diaconal ordination of Clement Kim Min-u, on February 4, 2018 the priestly ordination of Clement Kim Min-u, and on February 1, 2023 the priestly ordination of Joseph Go Byeong-gwan.

[Jurisdiction and statistics] The introduction page states that as of November 2022 the jurisdiction includes Jungsan-dong, Seongseok-dong, Seolmun-dong, Munbong-dong and others, and the number of faithful is 5,296.

Related places and people

• Ilsan Church: Jungsan Church was divided from this parish in 2001 (introduction on the Jungsan Church website).
• Yeoncheon Church: the Jungsan Church chronology records that a sisterhood affiliation was concluded on March 23, 2022.

References and sources

1. Website of Jungsan Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, “Introduction”. Patron St. Paul the Apostle, division from Ilsan Parish in 2001, begun in 2006 and completed in 2008, jurisdiction and number of faithful.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/js/default.aspx?mnucd=20001516
2. Website of Jungsan Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, “Church History”. Establishment of the parish in 2001, church construction committee, temporary church, first Mass in the new church and dedication in 2008, appointments of parish priests, parish events.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/js/default.aspx?mnucd=20001517
3. Website of Jungsan Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, “Patron”. Honoring St. Paul the Apostle as patron.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/js/default.aspx?mnucd=20001518
4. Website of Jungsan Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, “Clergy/Religious”. Dates of appointment of successive parish, associate and cooperating priests.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/js/default.aspx?mnucd=20001519
5. Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea, list of parishes of the Diocese of Uijeongbu, “Jungsan”. Date of establishment October 5, 2001.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/SearchList.aspx?cgubn=g&char=all&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000020&paged=100&sort=0&start=1&tbxSearch=