Uijeongbu 1-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Uijeongbu 1-dong Church is a church belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Uijeongbu, located at 30, Ganeung-ro 135-beon-gil, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was established in 1980 as Uijeongbu 4-dong Church, changed its name to Uijeongbu 1-dong Church on March 2, 1999, and its patron is the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Nogyang-dong Church (1992) and Singok 2-dong Church (1997) branched off from this church.

History

[Establishment] The church history on the Uijeongbu 1-dong Church website records that it purchased a site (348.24 pyeong) on September 4, 1980, and that the 1th parish priest, Father James Cho Won-haeng, took office on October 4, 1980 with the “construction of Uijeongbu 4-dong Church (patron: Descent of the Holy Spirit).” The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the date of establishment as 1980.9.20. It opened the convent of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs on October 7, 1980, completed the rectory and prepared a temporary sanctuary (education hall) on April 15, 1981. It held the 1th Parish Day event (Chaeul Festival) on May 21, 1983.

[Land expansion] The church history states that the grounds were expanded to a total of 385.01 pyeong with an addition of 36.77 pyeong on May 28, 1981, to a total of 423.37 pyeong with an addition of 38.36 pyeong on May 8, 1985, to a total of 473.23 pyeong with an addition of 49.86 pyeong on August 20, 1988, to a total of 517.16 pyeong with an addition of 43.93 pyeong on April 11, 1989, and to a total of 526.17 pyeong with an addition of 9.01 pyeong on November 15, 1995. It completed the education hall on December 30, 1990.

[Branching] Nogyang-dong Church branched off on October 8, 1992 (674 households, 2,042 people). It established the Singok 2-dong Catholic mission chapel on December 12, 1995, and Singok 2-dong Parish branched off on September 26, 1997. It changed the parish name to Uijeongbu 1-dong Church on March 2, 1999. On November 18, 2005, part of Geumo-dong (9 district, groups 4 to 5) was incorporated into Songsan Church.

[After 2000] It installed the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the bell tower on June 20, 2001, blessed the renovation work of the education hall on October 13, 2002, and blessed the renovation of the sanctuary on May 2, 2004. The chronology includes an entry stating that on June 24, 2004 the Diocese of Uijeongbu was separated from the Archdiocese of Seoul and newly established. It offered a Mass commemorating the 25th anniversary of the parish foundation on October 2, 2005, and blessed the establishment of the Catholic prayer room at the Uijeongbu Police Station on April 18, 2007. It blessed the parish elevator on September 17, 2014, and made a walking shrine pilgrimage (Diocese of Uijeongbu) for the 35th anniversary of the parish foundation on June 7, 2015. It offered a Mass commemorating the 40th anniversary of the parish foundation on September 20, 2020. It removed the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the bell tower on July 23, 2023, and held a retreat for all parishioners (Hanmaeum Retreat Center) for the 45th Parish Day on October 6, 2024. There was a Mass celebrating the golden jubilee of the 1th parish priest, Father James Cho Won-haeng, on December 7, 2025, and the 12th parish priest, Father Joseph Baek Byeong-hun, took office on February 20, 2026.

Architecture and Space

The building- and facility-related entries in the church history are as follows: purchase of a 348.24-pyeong site in 1980, completion of the rectory and preparation of a temporary sanctuary (education hall) in 1981, completion of the education hall in 1990, installation of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the bell tower in 2001, blessing of the education-hall renovation in 2002, blessing of the sanctuary renovation in 2004, blessing of the establishment of the prayer room in 2007, blessing of the elevator in 2014, and removal of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the bell tower in 2023.

Related Places and People

• Nogyang-dong Church: it branched off from Uijeongbu 1-dong Church (then Uijeongbu 4-dong Church) on October 8, 1992 (church history).
• Singok 2-dong Church: it was established as a Catholic mission chapel on December 12, 1995 and branched off as a parish on September 26, 1997 (church history).
• Songsan Church: on November 18, 2005 part of Geumo-dong was incorporated from this church into Songsan Church (church history).
• Patron, Descent of the Holy Spirit: the website explains that the Descent of the Holy Spirit means the event of the Holy Spirit coming down upon the apostles after the resurrection of Jesus, that is, the birth of the Church and the beginning of mission.
• Former parish priests: the 1th, James Cho Won-haeng (1980.10.4–1985.8.27), the 2th, Peter Ahn Byeong-cheol (1985.8.28–1988.8.28), the 3th, Thomas Han Sang-man (1988.8.29–1992.2.13), the 4th, Andrew Lee Won-yong (1992.2.14–1995.9.19), the 5th, Gabriel Kim Se-jin (1995.9.20–2000.9.18), the 6th, Michael Kim Dong-hun (2000.9.19–2004.9.20), the 7th, Titus Lee Chung-yeol (2004.9.21–2009.9.7), the 8th, Peter Shin Jung-ho (2009.9.8–2013.9.2), the 9th, Frederick Won Dong-il (2013.9.2–2018.9.4), the 10th, Hilary Cho Ji-hun (2018.9.4–2022.2.8), the 11th, Luke Ko Min-su (2022.2.8–2026.2.19), the 12th, Joseph Baek Byeong-hun (took office in 2026.2.20). These are the periods shown on the Former Parish Priests page (the church history records the appointment of the 11th priest, Father Ko Min-su, as 2022-01-27).
• Priests from the parish: the Parish-Origin Priests page lists Peter Lee Byeong-heon (ordained in 2002), Mark Choi Min-ho (2004), John the Apostle Kim Seung-beom (2006), James Ryu Jae-hyeong (2010, Clerical Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs), Leo Ahn Chang-gil (2011), Michael Lee Hak-jun (2015) and Andrew Lee Hak-min (2019).

References and Sources

1. Website of Uijeongbu 1-dong Catholic Church, Church History. Chronology for 1980–2026 (site purchase, construction of Uijeongbu 4-dong Church, land expansion, branching, name change, facility repairs, commemorative events, appointment of parish priests).
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/ujb1/default.aspx?mnucd=20003860
2. Website of Uijeongbu 1-dong Catholic Church, Patron Saint. Meaning of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/ujb1/default.aspx?mnucd=20003861
3. Website of Uijeongbu 1-dong Catholic Church, Former Parish Priests. Dates of appointment and terms of the 1th–12th parish priests.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/ujb1/default.aspx?mnucd=20003876
4. Website of Uijeongbu 1-dong Catholic Church, Parish-Origin Priests. Ordination years of priests from the parish.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/ujb1/default.aspx?mnucd=20003878
5. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea (list of parishes of the Diocese of Uijeongbu) “Uijeongbu 1-dong”. Date of establishment 1980.9.20., 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=