Seongsu-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

The Catholic community in Seongsu-dong traces its beginning to October 1943, when the Ttukseom mission station was founded under Hyehwa-dong parish. Parish records say that it began with only two households and five Catholics. In October 1946 its jurisdiction was transferred to Sindang-dong parish, and the need for an independent pastoral base grew as the local population increased.

In August 1964, the Archdiocese of Seoul entrusted pastoral care of the area to the Missionary Society of Guadalupe. After preparation, a decree for the new parish was drawn up on May 8, 1966, and Seongsu-dong was elevated to parish status and blessed on June 10. By then the community had grown to 181 households and 923 Catholics. The work of the missionaries helped the new parish establish itself and begin a range of lay apostolates.

On May 4, 1967, Korea's first Cursillo was held at Seongsu-dong Church with 21 participants. This became the starting point for a movement that later spread throughout the Korean Church, and Seongsu-dong came to be remembered as the “birthplace of the Korean Cursillo movement.” A Christian Family Movement began in 1969; a convent and kindergarten were established in 1971; and in 1973 a night school for working youth was operated, responding to the realities of the industrial district.

As the local Church continued to grow, Jayang-dong parish was separated from Seongsu-dong in 1977. The history from a tiny Ttukseom mission station to an independent parish and then a center of lay renewal, education, and social ministry reflects both the urbanization of eastern Seoul and changes in Catholic pastoral practice. The activities of the 1960s and 1970s in particular show an effort to address the concrete lives of families and young workers in an industrial neighborhood.