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History & origins

The Jongno area was long under the care of Myeongdong Parish, and the Seoul Archdiocese acquired the present parish site in 1944. On April 10, 1955, Father John the Baptist Yi Gye-jung was appointed the first pastor and Jongno 4-ga Parish was established; the parish was later renamed Jongno Catholic Church.

The community used a succession of church buildings. The present church is the third, built in 1987 during the pastorate of Father Louis Jang Dae-ik, and it has continued to serve Catholic life in central Seoul.

Beginning in the early 2010s, the parish undertook more focused research and commemoration of the nearby left and right Podocheong and Jeonokseo sites. On February 28, 2013, Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung designated Jongno as the “Podocheong Pilgrimage Church.” In September of that year a martyrs’ memorial hall was blessed and pilgrimage routes were proclaimed, adding a clear ministry of martyr remembrance to the parish’s historical role.