Capuchin Friars

History & origins

The Capuchin presence in Korea began in July 1986 when four friars from the Irish province arrived at the invitation of the Archdiocese of Seoul. At first they stayed at the Franciscan friary in Jeong-dong, and later moved through communities in Dowon-dong and Cheongpa-dong while establishing a stable base for religious life and formation. During the 1990s, Korean candidates and novices began to enter, and the Capuchin community gradually developed its own formation structure in Korea.

In 1996, the Friary of Saint Mary of the Angels was completed and dedicated in Hyochang-dong, Seoul, while the novitiate was moved to Gapyeong. As the community grew, a separate house was needed for seminarians and younger friars in formation. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that in 2002 the Capuchins established the St. Lawrence of Brindisi Fraternity on Ganghwa Island in the Diocese of Incheon for seminarians.

The present community in Hwado-myeon, Ganghwa, continues to be listed under the same name in the Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea. The history of this place is therefore directly connected not so much with the worldwide centuries-long history of the Capuchin Order as with the development of the Korean Capuchin formation system and its expansion to a fraternity in Ganghwa. The continuity of the house established in 2002 is the central historical fact of this location.