소록도 성당

About this place

Sorokdo Catholic Church is a parish church of the Archdiocese of Gwangju on Sorokdo Island in Goheung County, Jeollanam-do. The archdiocese’s current directory lists the church at 55 Sorokseonchang-gil in the Central-Southern district and names Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted as its patron.

The history of the Catholic community on Sorokdo is closely intertwined with the lives of people affected by Hansen’s disease. Archdiocesan historical materials state that a mission station was established in the patients’ residential area in September 1946 and was raised to parish status in August 1960. The island had the No. 1 church used by hospital staff and other Catholics and the No. 2 church used by the patients’ community; the latter is remembered as a sacred space built through the patients’ own labor, from leveling the site to gathering sand and making bricks.

Beginning in 1968, priests of the Missionaries of Guadalupe were assigned to Sorokdo and served people with Hansen’s disease. The No. 1 church, built in 1961, was renovated in 2015 after aging, while its old bell tower and statues of the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary were preserved. Sorokdo Catholic Church therefore carries meaning beyond that of a local parish: it is a place where faith, care, and solidarity accumulated amid a history of illness and isolation.

Official source