Sinpyeong Mission

About this place

Shinpyeong Mission Station belongs to Pocheon Parish in the Western District of the Diocese of Chuncheon. It is the local Catholic community through which the faithful of the Shinpyeong area in Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon, remain connected to their parish. The Diocese’s official mission-station directory places it under Pocheon Parish, and it represents the characteristic role of a smaller Catholic community that sustains its life of faith through Mass and prayer without being an independent parish.

Shinpyeong is particularly significant because its Catholic community took shape in a settlement of people affected by Hansen’s disease. According to material introduced by the Diocese, residents formed a community of mutual support and continued their faith through visiting priests and the celebration of Mass. Even after industrial development altered their living environment, a new mission station was prepared so that the community could continue. The site thus preserves the memory of a Catholic community formed in close solidarity with socially marginalized people.