Weekly Mass Schedule
Korean
Select a Mass time to view sources or report a change.
About this place
Wanwol-dong Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Masan and is presented in diocesan materials as the oldest parish in the Masan area. It has long served as one of the principal centers of Catholic evangelization in Masan and remains a parish center where Mass, the sacraments, catechesis, and community life are celebrated and sustained.
Its significance extends beyond its present parish functions. The parish preserves devotional traces associated with members of the 103 Korean Martyr Saints, including St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Bishop St. Laurent Imbert, and Fathers St. Jacques Chastan and St. Pierre Maubant, keeping the memory of the local Church’s martyrs alive. Its historical connection with the former stone church, now known as St. Joseph Church, also makes Wanwol-dong a place where the early formation of the Diocese of Masan and the memory of local Catholic faith can be understood together.
History & origins
The direct origins of Wanwol-dong Parish are linked to the missionary work in Gyeongsangnam-do of Fr. Émile Taquet, a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Taquet was assigned to Jinju Parish in 1899 but, because of various circumstances, moved his pastoral base to Masan and established Masanpo Parish on June 29, 1900. The community first used temporary quarters and a small traditional house in old Masan, and in 1904 a tiled-roof church and rectory were built.
As the Catholic community grew, the parish also became involved in education. In 1910, during the ministry of Fr. Germain Mousset, the private Seongji School began within the parish compound. In 1928, Fr. Jules Vermond built a new stone church. For many years this stone church was a place where Catholics in Masan celebrated Mass and prayed, while the parish and school together formed an important part of the local Catholic community.
When the Diocese of Masan was established in 1966, the episcopal ordination of its first bishop, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, was also celebrated in this parish setting. Masanpo Parish was later renamed Wanwol-dong Parish, and as the school facilities expanded, the parish church moved in 1974 to its present residential-area location. The old and new church sites thus assumed different functions while remaining parts of one continuous parish history.
The former stone church was later preserved under the name St. Joseph Church and designated as a cultural property of Gyeongsangnam-do. The history of Wanwol-dong Parish therefore records more than the succession of church buildings: it shows how a parish community took root in Masan and gradually extended its role into education and the formation of the diocese.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Start the first record for Wanwol-dong Catholic Church
No public encyclopedia article is available for this place yet. Help document its Catholic history and stories with verifiable sources.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
Would you like to record this place in your pilgrimage passport?
Sign in to keep this record with you.
Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 3 above-ground floors · 1 below-ground floors
- Total floor area: 1,769㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
Accessibility information is not available yet. Please check with the location before visiting.
Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Masan Diocese (Diocese of Masan)
Official website: https://cathms.kr
Help verify information
Did the Mass schedule or church information change?
Let us know if you confirmed the displayed information or noticed something different.
Information Status: Official source
Visited here? Share details about toilets, parking or ramps.
Sign in to leave a visitor check.
Sign in to confirm the schedule or report a change.
Reports are saved for review. Mass times are changed after evidence such as official sources is checked, not automatically based on visitor confirmations.