Marian devotion
In Yeokgok, within the city of Bucheon and near the railway corridor that links Seoul with Incheon, a parish is dedicated to Our Lady of the Annunciation. His patronage contemplates the listening of Mary and his free response to the announcement that she would be the mother of Jesus.
Advocation: Our Lady of the Annunciation.
Official Korean name: 성 Chom Yeongbo.
Temple: 역곡성당 · Yeokgok Catholic Church.
Address: 53 Beoman-ro 7beon-gil, Goean-dong, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 14682, Korea del Sur.
Official Foundation: 25 February 1981.
Jurisdiction: Catholic diocese of Incheon, first district of Bucheon.
Coordinates checked: 37.4821412, 126.8081934.
A confirmed patronage
The Bishops' Conference of Korea Young Boy, the Annunciation of Mary, as patronage of Yeokgok. The official file also confirms date, address, telephone and jurisdiction.
Two additional Catholic directories corroborate the identification. This parish should not be confused with Yeokgok 2-dong, located in another direction, nor with Yangon, also belonging to the diocese of Incheon and dedicated to the same mystery.
A feast of Christ and Mary
St. Paul VI explained that solemnity is first and foremost the Annunciation of the Lord: it celebrates the Incarnation of the Son of God. At the same time, she sees Mary as the faithful Virgin who welcomes the announcement.
The center is not the messenger or an isolated emotion, but Jesus Christ who really enters human history.
A word that comes to a simple house
The Gospel of Luke places the announcement in Nazareth, a small and peripheral town. God does not reserve his call to palaces, monumental temples or powerful people.
Pope Francis has stressed that the Word enters the house of a young woman. This closeness allows us to discover that ordinary life can become a place of encounter and mission.
"Rejoice, full of grace"
Gabriel begins by calling for joy. The initiative belongs to God, who fills Mary with grace before asking her answer.
The Christian vocation also does not begin in self-sufficiency. It is born of a received and mature gift when the person learns to trust without denying its limits.
Mary's question
Mary asks how the announced will happen. He does not accept unreflexive or reject for fear; he discerns at a mission that overcomes his understanding.
The honest question is part of the faith. A healthy community allows to ask, accompanies processes and does not use authority to silence consciousness.
A free and active "yes"
"Be done in me according to your word" expresses confidence, but not resignation. Mary agrees to participate with her whole being in a mission that will transform her future.
Christian availability never legitimizes coercion, abuse or violence. Mary's consent has value precisely because she is free.
Founded in February 1981
The parish was officially founded 25 February 1981. The date does not coincide with the Solemnity of 25 March and the sources consulted do not publish the specific reason for the choice of patronage.
The page maintains this documentary absence. It does not make the coincidence of the 25th a historical relationship that has not been demonstrated.
Bucheon in rapid transformation
Municipal history has described intense industrialization and urbanization since the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973 Bucheon became a city and the electrification of the Gyeongin railway line accelerated residential growth.
The foundation of Yeokgok is in that period of strong population growth. The context helps to understand the need for new communities, although it does not in itself demonstrate the exact circumstances of parish erection.
Between Seoul and Incheon
Yeokgok is part of a territory connected daily with the two large neighbouring cities. Labour movements, studies and housing changes mark the lives of many families.
The Annunciation recalls that God also accompanies transitions. Listening to his Word can give unity to a life fragmented by haste and paths.
A local image of the Annunciation
An independent visual chronicle shows in the temple a representation of the Annunciation and confirms the patronage. This observation helps to recognize the place, but does not replace the episcopal record.
Art can stop the look on the encounter between Gabriel and Mary: announcement, astonishment, discernment and response.
From "yes" to service
After receiving the announcement, Mary visits Isabel. The welcome grace does not put it in itself, but it puts it on the way to accompany.
A parish dedicated to the Annunciation is called to transform listening into care for pregnant women, children, the elderly, the sick and newly arrived people.
The current community
The consulted episcopal directory records 4,900 faithful, a priest and the presence of the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs. These figures may change.
The official phone is 032-343-3613 and the posted mail is yukkok @ caincheon.or.kr. The hours should be confirmed before they come.
verified location for the map
The official address is 53 Beoman-ro 7beon-gil, Goean-dong, Bucheon. Nominal mapping places the temple in 37.4821412, 126.8081934.
The score corresponds to Yeokgok Catholic Church. Yeokgok 2-dong, the railway station and the generic centre of the neighborhood have not been used.
To visit and pray
The visit can be offered by those who must discern a decision, by families subject to rapid change and by those who fear that they will not be able to respond to a new responsibility.
Before Mary of the Annunciation one can ask for careful listening, inner freedom and prompt to turn prayer into service.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Annunciation of Yeokgok
Our Lady of the Annunciation, accompanies the parish of Yeokgok. Teach us to listen to the Word in the midst of haste, to ask sincerely and to answer freely. Protect mothers and their children, guide those who change and make the grace received into visit, care and service. Always lead us to Jesus Christ, the Son announced. Amen.
Sources consulted
- Episcopal Conference of Korea: official file of Yeokgok.
- Good News Catholic: directorio de Yeokgok.
- Love Catholic: corroboration of identity and activity.
- Visual chronicle of the temple and its patronage.
- Bucheon City Council: contemporary history and urbanization.
- St. Paul VI: the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
- Pope Francis: The Annunciation as Listen and Availability.
- Cartography used to verify the temple.
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