Minrak-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Minlak-dong Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu, located at Yongmin-ro 351beon-gil, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do. On August 24, 2018 it was separated from Yonghyeon-dong Church and established, and its patron saint is Saint Matthew the Evangelist. On June 24, 2023 it celebrated the Mass for the dedication of the church building, and in 2024 it dedicated stained glass made by Father Kim In-jung.

History

[Establishment] The parish history on the Minlak-dong Church website lists “separation from Yonghyeon-dong Church and establishment of Minlak-dong Church” on August 24, 2018 as its first entry, and the address directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea also records the establishment date as 2018.08.24. The introduction page of the website gives the patron saint as Saint Matthew the Evangelist and the jurisdiction as the entire Minlak 2 District (8 zones and 30 groups).

[Early parish activities] On September 4, 2018 Father Carlo Kang Han-su took office as the first pastor, and on December 16, 2018 the first Mass was celebrated in the temporary church. September 21, 2019 is listed as the parish establishment anniversary, and the website states that it is the parish establishment anniversary celebrated on the feast of Saint Matthew the Evangelist.

[Construction and dedication of the church building] According to the parish history, the groundbreaking ceremony and groundbreaking Mass for Minlak-dong Church took place on April 3, 2022, and the first Mass at the Gosandong Catholic mission chapel took place on July 20, 2022. On June 24, 2023 the dedication ceremony for Minlak-dong Church was held. A text dated July 2, 2023 by Father Carlo Kang Han-su, published on the Symbols of the Church Building page, states that the Minlak-dong parish community celebrated the Mass for the dedication of the church building with the diocesan bishop on June 24, 2023.

[Change of pastors and dedication of the stained glass] On February 15, 2024 Father Paul Lee Sang-jin took office as the 2th pastor (the clergy and religious page lists his appointment date as 2024-02-01, and the departure date of the first pastor, Father Kang Han-su, as 2024-02-15). On August 15, 2024 the dedication ceremony for the stained glass was held.

Architecture and Space

The symbolism of the church building is explained in a text by Father Carlo Kang Han-su on the parish website’s ‘Symbols of the Church Building’ page. According to the text, the entire church building transplants a low hill on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, recalling the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew. The altar in the middle of the church symbolizes Jesus Christ, and the fact that seats are given individually rather than seating several people together on benches recalls the free and comfortable appearance of the crowd gathered to hear the Word.

The red brick walls surrounding it horizontally symbolize the world in which we live (family, neighbors, brothers and sisters), and the Japanese cypress extending vertically behind the altar symbolizes the path of life placed between the world and heaven, he explains. The altar and the tabernacle stand, the ambo and the commentary stand, and the holy water font are also expressed to match the horizontality and verticality of the church building. The octagonal tower on the upper part of the church signifies the Eight Beatitudes, and the inspiration for the octagonal tower was drawn from the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. The text from 2023 states that the image of Jesus, the Lamb of God, in the middle of the ceiling reproduces in stained glass the ceiling mosaic of the Church of San Vitale, and that the twenty-four windows inside the octagonal tower would later also be filled with stained glass.

The cross depicts Jesus with a gentle appearance, not a suffering appearance. The tabernacle has the form of bread, and on its door are engraved the five barley loaves and two fish left over after five thousand people had eaten. The 14 Stations of the Cross, made of pure white silver, will, according to the nature of silver which turns black when oxidized, darken and mature with the passage of time, it explains.

The stained glass is the work of Father Kim In-jung, completed in 2024 and dedicated with a dedication ceremony on August 15, 2024. According to the website, its total surface area is 50 square meters, installed in 15 places measuring 2,215 by 740 mm and in 9 places measuring 4,965 by 740 mm. Father Kim In-jung uses an original technique of painting directly on plate glass without lead lines and then firing it at a high temperature of 780 degrees, and this work was completed in collaboration with glass artisans of France’s ‘Atelier Loire’. The website states that Father Kim In-jung donated a Design Fee of 35 hundred million won for the creation to the Diocese of Uijeongbu as a talent donation, that he has installed works in more than 50 places around the world, including Chartres Cathedral in France and Liège Cathedral in Belgium, and that in 2021 he was selected by Switzerland’s Le Matin Dimanche as one of the world’s 10 great stained-glass artists, together with Chagall and Matisse.

Related Places and People

• Yonghyeon-dong Church: the parish from which Minlak-dong Church was separated (parish history, address directory).
• Gosandong Catholic mission chapel: its first Mass took place on July 20, 2022 (parish history).
• Father Carlo Kang Han-su: the first pastor, who took office on September 4, 2018 and left office on February 15, 2024 (former clergy page). After the dedication of the church building he wrote the text explaining the symbolism of the church building.
• Father Paul Lee Sang-jin: the 2th pastor who took office in 2024, and the clergy and religious page states that he was ordained on January 30, 2013.
• Father Kim In-jung: the painter-priest who made the stained glass of the church (Symbols of the Church Building page).

References and Sources

1. Minlak-dong Catholic Church website, Introduction. Date of establishment (2018.8.24), location, patron saint (Saint Matthew the Evangelist), jurisdiction.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/mld/default.aspx?mnucd=20001726
2. Minlak-dong Catholic Church website, Parish History. Chronology from 2018 to 2024 (establishment, appointment of the first pastor, first Mass in the temporary church, groundbreaking ceremony, first Mass at the Gosandong mission chapel, dedication of the church building, appointment of the 2th pastor, dedication of the stained glass).
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/mld/default.aspx?mnucd=20001727
3. Minlak-dong Catholic Church website, Symbols of the Church Building. Explanation of the symbolism of the church building and the scale, technique and dedication of Father Kim In-jung’s stained glass.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/mld/default.aspx?mnucd=20003449
4. Minlak-dong Catholic Church website, Clergy and Religious / Former Clergy. Introduction of the 2th pastor, Father Paul Lee Sang-jin, and the appointment and departure dates of the first pastor, Father Carlo Kang Han-su.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/mld/default.aspx?mnucd=20001729
5. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea (list of parishes of the Diocese of Uijeongbu) “Minlak-dong”. Date of establishment 2018.08.24, location.
   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=