Onam Catholic Church

Overview

Onam Church is a church located at Jingeon-Onam-ro 808-beongil, 20-28, Onam-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu. November 20, 2002 the parish was newly established, separating from Jinjeop Parish, and its patron is the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. July 19, 2003 a prefabricated 2-story church building was completed, and on the 27th of the same month the dedication ceremony for the church building was held.

History

〔Establishment of the parish and dedication of the church building〕 The church history on the Onam Church website records November 20, 2002 as the establishment of the parish and December 3, 2002 as the day it separated from Jinjeop Church, noting that Father Jacob Kim Jae-yeong took office as the first pastor on that day. The address book of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea lists the date of establishment as 2002.11.20. January 1, 2003 the church site was blessed, July 19, 2003 a prefabricated 2-story church building was completed, and July 27, 2003 the dedication ceremony was held with Msgr. Kim Byeong-do, delegate of the diocesan bishop, presiding and with dean priests and others in attendance.

〔Priests taking office in the 2000s〕 October 1, 2004 the 2th pastor, Father Leo Yun Seok-ju, and the first associate pastor, Father John the Apostle Park Jae-beom, took office—the appointment dates on the former priests page are 2004-09-21 for Father Yun Seok-ju and 2004-09-09 for Father Park Jae-beom. September 17, 2006 the 2nd associate pastor, Father Peter Choi Yong-hyeok, took office—the priests page gives 2006-09-01—and September 1, 2008 the 3th pastor, Father Michael Kim Dong-hun, and the 3th associate pastor, Father Pius Kim Yeon-sang, took office—the priests page gives 2008-09-09. In 2004, the 1th sports festival (October 31) and the 1th memorial prayer gathering (November 28) were held.

〔The 2010s〕 September 28, 2010 the 4th pastor, Father Michael Lee Sang-hun, took office. June 5, 2011 there was a blessing of the Holy Family statue, the Stations of the Cross and the Holy Family rest room. In 2012, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the parish foundation, a photo exhibition (September 9), a concert 'Song of the Martyrs' (September 22), a parish-wide pilgrimage to Nabawi Shrine (October 21), a grand choir festival (October 27), district memorial prayer gatherings (November 17), a thanksgiving Mass (November 25) and a literature night (December 24) were held. June 18, 2013 there was a pastoral visit by the diocesan bishop, and October 20, 2013 and June 14, 2015 charity bazaars were held to fund church construction. September 8, 2015 the 5th pastor, Father Ambrose Kim Ju-yong, took office, and February 26, 2017 the districts were reorganized from 19 districts and 51 small groups to 12 districts and 43 small groups. August 23, 2019 Father Kim Ju-yong passed away, and September 3, 2019 the 6th pastor, Father Matthias No Yeon-ho, took office.

〔Promotion of the new church building〕 The church history records that January 19, 2020 the parish building committee was formed and May 15 the project plan was approved, June 17 feasibility was reviewed and August 21 the design firm, SE Seoul Architects Office, was selected. November 22, 2020 it underwent review by the diocesan building committee. April 25, 2021 an information session was held to select the church building design, June 18 design proposal 1 with 3 above-ground stories was approved, September 28 the contract with the designer was approved, and October 17 a public hearing on construction was held. December 26, 2021 the construction advisory committee was appointed. February 27, 2022 a model of the church building (1:120) was completed and displayed in the lobby on the 2 floor, and July 13 approval by the diocesan bishop was received, as a conditional approval subject to partial revision of the design. Afterwards, December 23, 2022 surveying for the new construction and January 10, 2023 geological testing for the new construction were carried out, and April 22, 2023 includes the item 'selection of construction-design drawings, until the 23rd'.

〔Recent activities〕 May 11, 2021 a new marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima was installed, and March 2021 the Marian garden and the Stations of the Cross were renewed. November 6, 2022 the 20-year history of the parish was published, and November 13 and on the 20th special lectures and events for the 20th Parish Day were held. February 21, 2023 the 7nd pastor, Father Matthew Park Min-u, took office.

Architecture and spaces

According to the introduction page on the website, the land area is 5,996 square meters (1,813.7 pyeong) and the building is of reinforced concrete structure. The basement 1 floor (91.45 square meters) houses the machine room; the 1 floor (893.58 square meters) houses the church, meeting room, office, pastor's office and liturgical ministers' room; the 2 floor (560.66 square meters) houses the church with choir loft, 6 catechesis rooms, a small auditorium and the Sunday school teachers' room; and the 3 floor (417.56 square meters) houses 3 rectories and a kitchen.

July 19, 2003 a prefabricated 2-story church building was completed, according to the church history, and the introduction page on the website shows photos of both the 'new church building' and the 'former church building'.

Related places and people

• Jinjeop Church: the parish from which Onam Church separated in 2002, according to the church history.
• The Holy Family, the patron: the website explains that the Feast of the Holy Family was instituted in 1921, celebrated on the first Sunday after the Epiphany and then from 1969 on the first Sunday after Christmas, and states that the Holy Family was chosen as the patron of Onam Church so that the faithful could foster family life and grow in devotion to the Holy Family.
• Former priests: first pastor Jacob Kim Jae-yeong; 2th Leo Yun Seok-ju; 3th Michael Kim Dong-hun; 4nd Michael Lee Sang-hun; 5rd Ambrose Kim Ju-yong, who took office in 2015 and passed away in 2019; 6th Matthias No Yeon-ho; 7th Matthew Park Min-u, who took office in 2023. Listed as associate pastors on the website are John the Apostle Park Jae-beom, 1st, Peter Choi Yong-hyeok, 2nd, and Pius Kim Yeon-sang, 3rd.

References and sources

1. Catholic Onam Church website, Introduction. Date of establishment (2002.11.20, separation from Jinjeop Church), patron, jurisdiction, and land and building status.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/onam/default.aspx?mnucd=20003433
2. Catholic Onam Church website, Church History. History from 2002 to 2023—establishment of the parish, dedication ceremony, priests taking office, 10th anniversary events, and church construction process.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/onam/default.aspx?mnucd=20003434
3. Catholic Onam Church website, Patron Saint. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the reason for choosing them as patron.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/onam/default.aspx?mnucd=20003435
4. Catholic Onam Church website, Former Priests. Dates when former pastors and associate pastors took office.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/onam/default.aspx?mnucd=20003436
5. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea, list of parishes in the Diocese of Uijeongbu, 'Onam'. Date of establishment 2002.11.20 and 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=