Yeongwol Catholic Church

Overview

Yeongwol Church is a church in Yeongheung-ri, Yeongwol-eup, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, belonging to the Diocese of Wonju, also called Christ the King Church. It was separated and established from Daehwa Parish on July 24, 1952, and the first pastor was Father Yi Yeong-seop (Francis).

History

[Parish establishment] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, the area where the present Yeongwol Parish stands was originally under the jurisdiction of Daehwa Parish in the Diocese of Chuncheon. Father Yi Yeong-seop, assistant priest of Daehwa Parish, planned in 1952 to establish a parish in the Yeongwol area and tried to purchase a church site above the Machari township office, but feeling that Machari was too small as a site for a parish, he changed the plan to build a church in Yeongwol. On July 24, 1952, Yeongwol Parish was established with diocesan approval for parish establishment. The Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia also records that Yeongwol Church was separated from Daehwa Parish on July 24, 1952, that before the church was built Daehwa Parish administered the Catholic faithful in the Yeongwol area, and that for the expansion of the faithful and the spread and administration of mission, Yeongwol Parish was established in 1952 with diocesan approval.

[Early church] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, on September 3, 1952, a wooden house in Deokpo-ri, Yeongwol was purchased, and on November 20, the 10-pyeong wooden house was remodeled to set up a temporary church. On March 20, 1953, with the support of the 205 Engineer Battalion, site leveling was finished, and on October 9, a concrete 78-pyeong church was completed and a blessing ceremony was held. In October 1955, an auditorium of adobe bricks was built on a 52-pyeong site. The Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia records that in the early days of the parish a wooden house was used as a temporary church and that in October 1953 the church in its present form was completed.

[Branch divisions and jurisdiction changes] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, the 2th pastor, Father Yi Jae-man, elevated the Sangdong Catholic mission chapel to a parish on October 20, 1958, divided it, and transferred part of Sangdong-myeon and Hadong-myeon in Yeongwol-gun to the newly created Sangdong Parish. The 3th pastor, Father Choe Dong-o, purchased a 600-pyeong rectory site in July 1961, completed the Hambaek mission hall on September 19 of the same year and blessed it, and completed the Machari mission hall (60 pyeong) on October 16, 1962 and held a blessing ceremony. In 1965, as the Diocese of Wonju was separated and established from the Diocese of Chuncheon, Yeongwol Parish came to belong to the newly established Diocese of Wonju. Father Choe Dong-o established the Ssangyong mission chapel in August 1965 and blessed it the following month, elevated the Machari mission chapel to a parish on September 8 and divided it, and the Okdong mission chapel was also established in that year. The 4th pastor, Father Yang Dae-seok, transferred the Ssangyong mission chapel and the Yongseok-ri mission chapel to Yeongwol Parish on January 7, 1968, when the Machari Parish was closed. The 5th pastor, Father O'Brien (J. O'Brien), James, transferred the Jucheon mission chapel and the Yongseok mission chapel to Uirim-dong Parish on July 1, 1969, and the Jumun-ri mission chapel to Sangdong Parish on October 13 of the same year.

[After the 1970s] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, the 7th pastor, Father Clarke (L. Clarke), Leo, established the Yeongwol Credit Union on March 19, 1977 and established the Yeondang mission chapel in August 1977. The 11th pastor, Father Kim Jong-tae, Andrea, prepared a branch of the Sisters of Caritas on March 1, 1985, reopened on March 11 of that year the Seongmo Kindergarten which had been closed the previous year, and newly completed the Seongmo Kindergarten building on November 2, 1986 and blessed it. The 14th pastor, Father Park Sun-sin, Francis, received the Nokjeon mission chapel from Hwangji Parish on July 1, 1995, and completed an education hall on December 3 of the same year and held a blessing ceremony. The Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia also records that in March 1985 a branch of the Sisters of Caritas was installed at Yeongwol Church.

[Characteristics of local Catholicism] According to the Catholicism entry of the Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia, the Yeongwol area has a history in which voluntary prayer gatherings began while no resident priest was stationed, a Catholic mission chapel was created as believers increased, and then a parish was created again. The same entry records that the Macha mission chapel originated from prayer gatherings of Catholic believers in the Macha area in the 1950s, that Father Yi Yeong-seop, Bangjigeo, assistant priest of Daehwa Parish, hearing this news, visited the Macha area and led prayer, and that later, as believers further increased, a mission chapel was installed and a church building was newly built. The Yeongwol area belongs to the Yeong-Pyeong-Jeong district (Yeongwol, Pyeongchang, Jeongseon) of the Diocese of Wonju, but because of its close characteristics with the Jecheon area, the Jecheon district also administers parishes in the Yeongwol area.

[Jurisdiction and present status] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, the patron is Christ the King, and the jurisdiction at that time was all of Yeongwol-eup and Buk-myeon, part of Nam-myeon, all of Hadong-myeon, part of Seo-myeon, and part of Jungdong-myeon, and the subordinate mission chapels were 2 places, Macha and Nokjeon. The Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia gives the present jurisdiction as Yeongwol-eup, Buk-myeon, Nam-myeon, Gimsatgat-myeon, and Sansol-myeon, and cites the Macha mission chapel as a mission chapel. The same entry records that Yeongwol Church carries out various missionary and social service activities not only for believers in the Yeongwol area but also for tourists visiting Yeongwol and believers in neighboring areas.

[Catholic population and successive pastors] The Catholic population recorded in the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History is 206 in 1954, 1,200 in 1959, 2,079 in 1964, 1,053 in 1969, 1,615 in 1974, 1,024 in 1979, 1,361 in 1984, 1,103 in 1989, 1,389 in 1994, and 1,568 in 1999. Successive priests are the first Yi Yeong-seop, Francis (1952.7–1956.6), 2nd Yi Jae-man, Anicetus (1956.6–1958.11), 3rd Choe Dong-o, Athanasius (1958.11–1966.10), 4th Yang Dae-seok, Aloysius (1966.10–1969.5), 5th O'Brien (J. O'Brien), James (1969.5–1973.4), 6th Kelvin (B. Kelvin), Barrett (1973.4–1974.2), 7th Clarke (L. Clarke), Leo (1974.2–1978.6), 8th Bradley (P. Bradley), Paul (1978.6–1982.5), 9rd Fleming (K. Fleming), Gabinus (1982.5–1983.5), 10th Yi Hak-geun, Benedict (1983.5–1984.5), 11th Kim Jong-tae, Andrea (1984.5–1988.9), 12nd Yi Tae-u, Joseph (1988.9–1989.3), 13th Yi Byeong-don, John Bosco (1989.3–1993.2), 14th Park Sun-sin, Francis (1993.2–1998.11), and 15st Kim Seong-hun, Stephen (1998.11–).

Related places and people

• Daehwa Parish (Diocese of Chuncheon): the mother parish that had jurisdiction over the Yeongwol area and from which Yeongwol Parish was separated in 1952 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia).
• Sangdong Parish: newly established in 1958 when the Sangdong mission chapel of Yeongwol Parish was elevated and divided (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History).
• Macha mission chapel and Machari Parish: on September 8, 1965, the Machari mission chapel was elevated to a parish and later closed on January 7, 1968 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History). The Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia records that as of 2019 there is a Macha mission chapel belonging to Yeongwol Parish.
• Jucheon Catholic Church (Jucheon Church): started in 1957 as a mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Yongsomak Church and was elevated to a parish (Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Yi Yeong-seop (Francis, Bangjigeo): as assistant priest of Daehwa Parish, the first pastor who promoted the establishment of Yeongwol Parish (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Encyclopedia of Korean Catholic History, entry “Yeongwol Parish”. Establishment process on July 24, 1952, early church and hall, branch divisions and mission transfers, facilities in the 1970–1990s, Catholic population and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4523
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia, entry “Yeongwol Church”. Establishment in 1952, temporary church and church completion in 1953, branch of the Sisters of Caritas, jurisdiction.
   https://www.grandculture.net/yeongwol/toc/GC08301067
3. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Yeongwol Culture Encyclopedia, entry “Catholicism”. Characteristics of Catholicism in the Yeongwol area, formation of the Macha mission chapel and Jucheon Church, district affiliation.
   https://www.grandculture.net/yeongwol/toc/GC08301066