Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate

History & origins

The history of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Seoknam-dong is directly connected with the growth of Seoknam-dong Parish. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, a small group of Catholics in the area had begun gathering for mission-station services by the mid-1950s, and a formal mission station was established in January 1961. After changes in parish jurisdiction, Seoknam-dong Mission Station was elevated to a parish on October 6, 1974.

The religious community arrived after the parish had become established. The encyclopedia records that a local community of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary was organized in April 1983 and that a convent was built in July of the same year. This shows that the congregation's presence at Seoknam-dong is not a recent use of the parish address, but a community foundation rooted in the parish's pastoral life since the early 1980s.

The congregation itself was founded in 1877 and entered Korea in 1958, but for the history of this particular place the decisive event is the establishment of the branch and convent in 1983. Names and membership may have changed over time, yet both the parish history and the current directory confirm the continuing presence of the congregation in Seoknam-dong.

Today the Guide to the Catholic Church in Korea registers the community as the 'Incheon Blessed Assunta Community,' and the Seoknam-dong Parish directory still identifies the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary as its religious congregation. Public sources do not establish every date at which the community's title may have changed, but they clearly support the historical continuity of a Franciscan Missionaries of Mary community serving alongside the parish at the same site since 1983.