행당동 성당

History & origins

Haengdang-dong was originally part of Wangsimni Parish. By the late 1960s Wangsimni had become too large, while Catholics in the elevated Haengdang area lived far from the parish church and in difficult residential and educational conditions. The Columban Missionaries began looking for a church site in early 1969 and secured land in May.

The Archdiocese of Seoul erected Haengdang-dong Parish on August 10, 1969, appointing Fr. Maurice O’Connor as its first pastor. Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan presided at the church dedication on August 31. During the early years, the parish organized Legion of Mary groups, women’s and funeral associations, Sunday school, and a St. Vincent de Paul group.

The church was enlarged during the 1970s, and pastoral responsibility passed from the Columbans to the Archdiocese of Seoul in 1978. Land for an education center was acquired in 1979 and the center was completed in 1986. Later decades brought a relocated convent, an academy for older parishioners, and a rectory, showing how the parish expanded its facilities and ministries as the neighborhood grew.