Sinnae-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Sinnae-dong Church is a parish belonging to No. 7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District in the East Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Sinnae-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. It was established on September 24, 1992, and its patron is Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon. This area was designated as a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Hyehwa-dong Parish in 1937, was assigned to Sangbong-dong Parish in 1971, and then became a newly established parish.

History

[Before establishment] According to the parish history, this area was designated as a Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Hyehwa-dong Parish in 1937, and in 1971 it was assigned to Sangbong-dong Parish. In November 1991, Sangbong-dong Parish requested the diocesan curia to assign a priest for a new parish and to build a new church building, and on December 17 the appointment ceremony for the 1 promotion committee for the Sinnae-dong church building (90 members in total) was held.

[Establishment] On October 11, 1992, the first Mass was celebrated by parish priest Michael Choe Jong-geon (355 households, 1,202 faithful). On October 21 the first pastoral council was launched, and on October 25 the Legion of Mary was founded with 2 men’s praesidia and 7 women’s praesidia. The establishment date in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea online directory is September 24, 1992.

[Church building construction] On June 6, 1993, fundraising for the church building began, and on September 19 the 1 groundbreaking Mass for the Sinnae-dong church building was celebrated by Bishop Kim Ok-gyun. On March 31, 1994, the first Mass was celebrated in the underground 2-floor church, and on September 22 construction of the rectory, convent and dining hall began. On March 19, 1995, the completion and blessing ceremony for the 1 church building (underground church) was held. On April 13, 1997, there was the groundbreaking Mass for the 2 church building, on May 30 construction of the 2 church building began, and on December 24, 1998, the Christmas Midnight Mass was celebrated for the first time in the newly built church. On July 4, 1999, the church dedication ceremony was held, celebrated by Archbishop Jeong Jin-seok.

[Later history] On April 14, 1996, the parish emblem mark and logo were selected, and on June 30 the inaugural issue of the parish newsletter “Onggi Village” was published. In March 1999 the seniors’ college opened, and on January 2, 2000, the Rosaria Choir was founded and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established. On March 4, 2002, the Daegeon Daycare Center opened. On February 20, 2003, part of Mangu-1-dong under the jurisdiction of Mangu-dong Parish, districts 1, 2 and 3 (309 households, 776 members), was incorporated into Sinnae-dong Parish as districts 23, 24 and 25 of District No. 7. On September 7, 2008, the church renovation promotion committee was launched, and on November 8, 2009, Bishop Luca Kim Un-hui celebrated the thanksgiving Mass for the church renovation and the blessing of the Marian shrine. On February 23, 2011, Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr, was designated as the patron of District 23, and on October 18 a sister relationship was formed with 4 parishes of the Diocese of Sapporo in Japan. On April 25, 2015, the altar and sound facilities of the Marian shrine were blessed, and on September 7 the church renovation promotion committee was launched again.

[Recent history] On September 16, 2012, the “Parish Day” event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the parish establishment was held, and on March 26, 2017, the compilers of the history for the 25th anniversary of the parish establishment were appointed. On February 1, 2018, there was the priestly ordination of Perfecto Kim Wan-su. On February 25, 2020, Masses were suspended due to COVID-19, and Masses with the faithful resumed on April 23. On May 15, 2021, a blessing ceremony for the underground parking lot was held. On September 18, 2022, the Mass and sports festival commemorating the 30th anniversary of the parish establishment were celebrated jointly by Diocesan Bishop Peter Chung Soon-taek, former parish priests and priests from the parish, and from September 3 to 28 a photo exhibition tracing the parish history was held. On August 14 of the same year there was the dedication ceremony for the handwritten Bible transcription for the 30rd anniversary of the parish establishment. On August 11, 2024, there was a blessing ceremony for the underground small chapel and catechesis rooms.

[Successive parish priests] The parish priests listed on the parish website’s former priests page are the first priest Michael Choe Jong-geon (October 8, 1992–September 30, 1999), the 2 priest Barnabas Kim Jeong-nam (October 1, 1999–September 30, 2005), the 3 priest John the Apostle Jo Hyeong-gyun (October 1, 2005–February 22, 2010), the 4 priest John the Apostle Lee Gi-u (February 23, 2010–September 1, 2014), the 5 priest Andrew Kim Dae-geon Bae Do-dong (September 2, 2014–August 26, 2019), and the 6 priest Andrea Lee Chan-il (August 27, 2021–September 5, 2023).

Jurisdiction and affiliation

In the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea online directory, the affiliated diocese is listed as the Archdiocese of Seoul, the region and district as East Seoul Region, No. 7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District, the establishment date as 1992.09.24, the religious congregation as the Sisters of the Holy Word, the patron as Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon, the number of faithful as 6,886, and the number of Catholic mission chapels as 0.

Related places and people

• Hyehwa-dong Parish: the parish that designated this area as a Catholic mission chapel under its jurisdiction in 1937.
• Sangbong-dong Parish: administered this area from 1971 and requested the diocese to establish a new parish.
• Mangu-dong Parish: in 2003 transferred part of its jurisdiction (part of Mangu-1-dong) to Sinnae-dong Parish.
• Father Michael Choe Jong-geon: the first parish priest.

References and sources

1. Sinnae-dong Church, “Parish History.” History from the designation as a Catholic mission chapel in 1937 to 2026, first Mass at establishment, church building construction, jurisdictional incorporation, 30 anniversary events.
   http://www.shinnae.com/content/history
2. Sinnae-dong Church, “Former Priests.” Terms of successive parish priests.
   http://www.shinnae.com/content/bfPriest
3. Sinnae-dong Church, “Patron Saint.” Patron Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and feast day.
   http://www.shinnae.com/content/saint
4. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea online directory, “Sinnae-dong.” Affiliated diocese and district, establishment date 1992.09.24, religious congregation, patron, number of faithful.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000162&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011