Order of the Eternal Help of the Blessed Virgin Mary

History & origins

The Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help were founded in Pyongyang in 1932 and, after the disruption of the Korean War, had to establish a new base in the South. According to the institute’s official records, its motherhouse and novitiate moved to Heukseok-dong in Seoul on April 19, 1955, making the area an important center for rebuilding the congregation.

Life in Heukseok-dong soon extended beyond religious community life into apostolic service for the poor and the sick. On June 14, 1955, the sisters opened the Seongmo Clinic near the motherhouse. This medical apostolate later expanded and developed into Seongmo Hospital in 1962. The rebuilding of the congregation in postwar Seoul thus unfolded together with concrete service to its neighbors.

Although the motherhouse moved elsewhere in 1964, Heukseok-dong did not disappear from the institute’s history. Today, a religious community continues in Heukseok-dong under the name “Seongmo Education Center Branch.” The founding date of the present branch cannot simply be equated with the relocation of the former motherhouse, but the place remains significant as an area that has carried the memory of the institute’s community life and apostolic work since the 1950s.