신정동 성당

History & origins

The roots of Sinjeong-dong Catholic Church were formed amid the expansion of southwestern Seoul and the settlement of displaced residents. After Mokdong Parish was established in 1972, the Sinjeong-dong mission station was reorganized. In 1975 it moved to a basement near the entrance of Sinjeong Jeil Market, where Mass and community life continued. At the time, many low-income neighborhoods had formed along the Anyangcheon embankment, including families relocated from demolition areas elsewhere in Seoul. Missionary priests of the Missionary Society of St. Columban combined preparation for a parish with practical concern for struggling local residents.

On December 9, 1976, the Archdiocese of Seoul elevated the Sinjeong-dong mission station to parish status, and Columban missionary Gerald Linsen became the first pastor. Until a permanent church was completed, the parish used the basement of a building in Jeil Market as its temporary church. The Columbans supported the acquisition of parish land, and construction began in March 1977; by October a one-story church and rectory were completed. From 1976 through 1990, a succession of Columban missionaries served the parish, emphasizing assistance to the poor, Scripture and devotional formation, and close relationships with neighborhood residents.

As development and the Catholic population increased, Sinjeong-dong became a mother parish in the reorganization of the local pastoral network. It oversaw the Sinwol mission station until Sinwol-dong became an independent parish in 1984, and later the Yangcheon area was divided into still smaller parish territories. Sinjeong-dong's history is therefore one of a market-basement worship community that built a church through cooperation between missionaries and parishioners and then helped form daughter parishes. The early tradition of sharing life with poorer neighbors remains central to understanding the parish's historical identity, and the long Columban presence gave lasting shape to its commitment to see faith and the needs of the local community together.