Dohwa-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

Dohwa-dong Parish was established on July 17, 1960, from territory previously served by Dapdong and Songnim-dong Parishes. Incheon was undergoing rapid industrialization and urban expansion, and the broad territories of older parishes increasingly needed to be divided so that pastoral care could be brought closer to growing Catholic populations. The creation of Dohwa-dong was one important stage in that expansion of the Church's presence in central Incheon.

After its establishment, the parish gradually developed both worship and educational facilities. A church of roughly 280 pyeong was dedicated on April 25, 1963. In 1965 a Catholic center for students was created for catechetical and audiovisual education. The organization of a credit cooperative in 1963 and the operation of the "House of Light" from 1976 show that the parish also became involved in lay cooperation and service to vulnerable neighbors. In 1984 the Xavier Education Hall expanded the space available for formation and parish meetings.

Dohwa-dong also became a mother parish for several surrounding communities. Juan 1-dong and Yonghyeon-dong Parishes were separated in 1963, followed by Sungui-dong in 1970, Jemulpo and Songnim 4-dong in 1976, and Juan 5-dong in 1980. In 1985, marking the parish's twenty-fifth anniversary, the community published a twenty-five-year parish history and celebrated a commemorative Mass. The parish's history is therefore closely connected not only with its own growth but also with the expansion of the parish network across central Incheon.