Shinsu-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

Sinsu-dong Catholic Church was established in September 1971 by separating territory from Yongsan, Ahyeon-dong, Yanghwajin (now Seogyo-dong), and Gongdeok-dong parishes. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives September 17 as the foundation date. The Korean branch of the Missionary Society of St. Columban helped obtain land for the new parish, and a Seoul Archdiocese weekly bulletin recalls that the first community worshiped in a small wooden building with rice sacks spread on the floor. Independent parish life in Mass, the sacraments, and catechesis therefore began before comfortable facilities were available.

In 1972 construction began with support from the Columbans and the Archdiocese of Seoul, and Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan presided over the dedication of the church in 1973. That building served as the parish center for more than a decade. As the community grew and its facilities needed renewal, the old church was demolished in 1984 and construction of a new one followed. The present church was dedicated in April 1986. Its interior was conceived as a Western-style liturgical space, while its exterior incorporated Korean traditional beauty, giving the building the architectural character for which it is known today.

Sinsu-dong Parish has continued liturgy, faith formation, and small-community life amid changes in the Mapo residential environment. Its history did not begin with a large completed facility; it began with a small wooden structure and developed through cooperation among local Catholics, missionaries, and the Archdiocese. The two successive church-building projects also show how the community renewed its worship space as local conditions and pastoral needs changed. The early role of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and the present church's combination of Western interior planning with Korean exterior forms are especially important features of the parish's historical identity.