이태원 성당

History & origins

Preparation for Itaewon Parish became concrete in 1959 as Haebangchon Parish expanded. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, a site in Itaewon-dong was selected in May of that year and procedures began to obtain the state-owned land. In November 1960, Bishop Paul Ro Ki-nam presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the church.

The parish was formally established on January 1, 1961 after separation from Haebangchon Parish, with Father Vito Jang Geun-sil appointed as the first pastor. From its beginning it served as a local pastoral center for Catholics in Itaewon and the neighboring Hannam, Bogwang, and Dongseobinggo areas.

The urban environment and population of Itaewon changed greatly over the following decades, but the parish continued as a Catholic community in the same area. It remains an established parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul, preserving the history of a local Church community formed during the city’s rapid expansion in the early 1960s.