Pungdong Catholic Church

Overview

Pungdong Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu, located at Supsokmaeul-ro 49-69, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was established on August 31, 2006, and the first pastor, Father Michael Lee Sang-hun, took office on September 14, 2006. Its patron saint is Saint Mother Teresa.

History

〔Establishment and first pastor〕 The directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea lists the establishment date of Pungdong Church as 2006.8.31. According to the Former Priests page on the Pungdong Church website, the first pastor was Father Michael Lee Sang-hun (ordained July 13, 1994), and his appointment date was September 14, 2006.

〔Successive pastors〕 The same page lists the 2 pastor, Father Francis Xavier Kim Jong-min (ordained December 13, 2000, took office September 28, 2010), the 3 pastor, Father Joseph Jung Won-sik (ordained July 5, 2001, took office September 8, 2015), and the 4 pastor, Father Leo Kim Hyo-jun (ordained December 13, 2000, took office September 3, 2019). The current pastor is Father James Noel Kim Dong-su (ordained July 5, 2001), who took office on February 15, 2024, and the church history records a farewell Mass for Father Leo Kim Hyo-jun on February 11, 2024 and a welcome Mass for Father James Noel Kim Dong-su on February 18.

〔Former associate pastors〕 The Former Priests page lists the first associate pastor, Father Paul Na Jun-hong (took office February 19, 2013), the 2 associate pastor, Father Leo An Chang-gil (February 17, 2015), the 3 associate pastor, Father Leo Kim Gyeong-min (September 5, 2017), the 4 associate pastor, Father Martino Jeong Taek-chan (February 18, 2020), and the 5 associate pastor, Father Peter Lee Dong-hyeon (February 21, 2023), while the Parish Priests page states that the current associate pastor, Father Daniel Ham Hyeon-ho, was ordained on February 5, 2025 and took office on February 18, 2025.

〔Recent history〕 The 2024–2025 entries in the church history include an all-parishioners pilgrimage to Solmoe Shrine on April 21, 2024, fundraising for the construction of the Good Shepherd Sisters convent on June 23, 2024, the 25 anniversary Mass and celebration of Star of the Sea Kindergarten on October 19, 2024, and the appointment ceremony for pastoral council members on November 10, 2024. Events of the children’s section (Attinuri), youth section (Roda), young adult group (Hanarin), senior academy (Pungseong Senior Academy) and others are also recorded in the chronology.

Related places and people

• Patron Saint Mother Teresa: The Patron Saint page on the website gives her feast day as September 5 and her active years as 1910–1997, and includes a serial article from the Catholic Times series ‘Saints of Our Time.’ According to that article, Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, North Macedonia on August 26, 1910, joined the Sisters of Loreto in 1928, began work in the slums of Kolkata in 1948, and the Missionaries of Charity was founded in 1950. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, visited Korea three times in 1981, 1982 and 1985, died on September 5, 1997 at age 87, and was beatified on October 19, 2003 and canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.
• Pastor’s greeting: The church introduction page on the Pungdong Church website carries a greeting from the pastor, Father James Noel Kim Dong-su, which presents as hopes for this year a hospitable community realizing synodality, a community living the Eucharist, a youth and young-adult community centered on Mass and faith, and a community responding to the climate crisis.

References and sources

1. Pungdong Catholic Church website, Former Priests. Ordination and appointment records of the 1–4 pastors and the 1–5 associate pastors.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/pungdong/default.aspx?mnucd=20003570
2. Pungdong Catholic Church website, Parish Priests. Ordination and appointment dates of the current pastor and associate pastor.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/pungdong/default.aspx?mnucd=20003593
3. Pungdong Catholic Church website, Church History. Chronology for 2024–2025.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/pungdong/default.aspx?mnucd=20003568
4. Pungdong Catholic Church website, Patron Saint. Life and canonization of Mother Teresa.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/pungdong/default.aspx?mnucd=20003569
5. Pungdong Catholic Church website, Church Introduction. Pastoral greeting on pastoral direction from the pastor.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/pungdong/default.aspx?mnucd=20003567
6. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory (list of parishes of the Diocese of Uijeongbu) “Pungdong”. Establishment date 2006.8.31., 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=