Suseo-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

Suseo-dong Catholic Church was established in September 1992 by separating parts of Gaepo-dong and Poi-dong parishes. The current Catholic directory gives September 24, 1992 as the foundation date. According to a bulletin of the Archdiocese of Seoul, the new community initially carried out its ministry in a commercial building in Irwon-dong; the first pastor arrived in October and began preparing a church. This was a period of rapid growth as large apartment complexes were being built in Suseo and Irwon.

In November 1993 the parish moved its center to the present area in Suseo-dong. Development was so rapid that in February 1994 it again divided its territory to create Irwon-dong Parish. The fact that Suseo was founded and then gave rise to another parish within such a short period vividly reflects population growth in southern Gangnam and the Church's pastoral response. The community later pursued a permanent church, and in September 1999 the new church was dedicated.

The church was also shaped as a place of contemporary sacred art rather than merely as a functional building. Records show that stained glass by artist Choi Young-sim was installed in Suseo-dong Church in the 1990s. In 2011, as the parish approached its twentieth anniversary, a large Confirmation celebration reflected the size and maturity of the community. Suseo-dong's history therefore shows a parish born alongside the new-town residential development of the 1990s, rapidly divided as the population grew, and eventually rooted through a permanent church and stable community life. The Holy Family, its patron, resonated naturally with a neighborhood in which many new family households were being formed. After the separation of Irwon-dong, Suseo continued to stabilize pastoral care within its adjusted territory and has maintained that community continuity to the present.