Sudong Church

Overview

Sudong Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Uijeongbu, located at 1482 Namga-ro, Sudong-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Newly established on November 2006, it held its first Mass in a temporary chapel and then held its church dedication ceremony on May 8, 2008. Its patron saint is Saint John of the Cross. Its jurisdiction covers Sudong-myeon and Gagok-ri, Hwado-eup, in Namyangju-si.

History

[Establishment] The introduction page of the Sudong Church website lists the date of establishment as November 16, 2006, and the church history also lists November 16, 2006 “Establishment of Sudong Church in the Diocese of Uijeongbu” as its first entry. The Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference directory lists the date of establishment as 2006.11.21 (in the church history, November 21, 2006 is the date of the first Mass in the temporary chapel). On November 19, 2006, Father Peter Shin Jung-ho took office as the first pastor.

[Moving into and dedicating the church building] The pastoral council was formed on September 2, 2007, the community moved into the church building on November 22, 2007, and the dedication ceremony was held on May 8, 2008. On September 2008, Father Shin Jung-ho left and Father Peter Kim Si-yong took office (the church history records the departure as September 21 and the arrival as September 22, while the clergy/religious page lists Father Kim Si-yong’s starting date as 2008-09-09). On July 5, 2009, the 1th Confirmation was held.

[The 2010s] On November 9, 2011, land was sold and the loan from the pastoral mutual-aid fund was repaid. On August 5, 2012, the 2th Confirmation was held. On September 2013, Father Kim Si-yong left (September 2) and Father Charles Ko Jong-hyang took office (church history September 3, clergy/religious page 2013-09-05). The pastoral council was formed on May 24, 2015, and in the same year, on December 16, the 3th Confirmation, and on July 16, 2016, the 4th Confirmation were held. On September 2016, Father Ko Jong-hyang left (September 5) and Father Luke Yang Hyeong-seok took office (September 6). On November 17, 2016, the parish 10th anniversary celebration was held. On September 19, 2017, the community participated in the prayer meeting for the canonization of the 124 Blesseds and the Martyrs’ Veneration Faith Rally, and on October 28, 2018, the 5th Confirmation was held. On June 25, 2019, the community participated in the Sunday school family pilgrimage to holy sites and the Peace Prayer Mass at Imjingak, and on October 6, held a holy-site pilgrimage for families of those baptized in 2016~2019.

[After 2020] On February 17, 2020, Father Yang Hyeong-seok left and on February 18, Father Francis Kim Seung-yeon took office. On February 21, 2023, Father Anthony Lee Han-su took office, on February 14, 2024 Father Lee Han-su left, and on February 15, 2024 Father Augustine Ra Byeong-guk took office. In 2025, the remodeling work on the exterior finish of the main church building and the retreat house, begun in mid-May, was completed with the finishing of the exterior stone work on July 14.

Architecture and Space

The church dedication ceremony was held on May 8, 2008, and the community moved into the church building on November 22, 2007 (church history). The first Mass was celebrated in the temporary chapel on November 21, 2006. In 2025, the exterior finish of the main church building and the retreat house was remodeled, and the stone exterior work was completed on July 14 (church history).

Related Places and Figures

• Patron Saint John of the Cross: The homepage introduces him as born in Fontiveros near Avila, Spain, on June 24, 1542, entering the Carmelite monastery in Medina del Campo in 1563, ordained a priest in 1567, and beginning a reformed religious life in Duruelo on November 28, 1568 with the help of Saint Teresa of Avila. He was kidnapped in 1577 and imprisoned in the Toledo monastery, escaped in 1578, and died in the Ubeda monastery on December 13, 1591. It records that he was beatified in 1675, canonized in 1726, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1926 and patron saint of Spanish-language poets in 1993.
• Past parish priests (clergy/religious page): the 1th Peter Shin Jung-ho (took office 2006), the 2th Peter Kim Si-yong (2008), the 3th Charles Ko Jong-hyang (2013), the 4th Luke Yang Hyeong-seok (2016), the 5th Francis Kim Seung-yeon (2020), the 6th Anthony Lee Han-su (2023), the 7th Augustine Ra Byeong-guk (took office 2024).

References and Sources

1. Sudong Church website, Introduction. Date of establishment (November 16, 2006), location, patron saint (Saint John of the Cross), jurisdiction.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/sudong/default.aspx?mnucd=20002348
2. Sudong Church website, Church History. History from 2006~2025 (establishment, first Mass in the temporary chapel, moving into and dedicating the church, Confirmations, arrival and departure of priests, exterior remodeling).
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/sudong/default.aspx?mnucd=20002349
3. Sudong Church website, Patron Saint. Life, beatification and canonization of Saint John of the Cross.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/sudong/default.aspx?mnucd=20002350
4. Sudong Church website, Clergy/Religious. Starting dates and ordination information of successive pastors.
   http://sd.uca.or.kr/sudong/default.aspx?mnucd=20002351
5. Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Korean Catholic Directory (Uijeongbu Diocese Parish List) “Sudong.” Establishment date 2006.11.21, 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=