Ansan St. Maria Catholic Church

History & origins

Ansan St. Mary Parish was established on January 30, 2001, after separation from Daehak-dong Parish. The following year the name Ansan St. Mary was formally adopted and Mary, Star of the Sea, was chosen as patron. Continued growth in the Gojan area soon led to the creation of Joachim Parish and Ansan St. Joseph Parish in 2002 and Ansan St. Anne Parish in 2005. The new parish thus became a mother parish for several communities within only a few years.

Because of these repeated parish divisions, construction of its own permanent church was delayed. Work finally began in April 2007. Parishioners raised building funds through activities such as selling kimchi and packaging grapes, and construction was completed on February 18, 2009. The building, with one basement level and five floors above ground, included the main church, a hall, and rooms for catechesis and parish meetings.

Bishop Paul Choi Deok-ki presided at the dedication on April 11, 2010. In 2026 the parish celebrated the 25th anniversary of its establishment and presented a photographic exhibition documenting its pastoral work and community life. Its history moves from rapid growth and repeated division, through parish-led church construction, to a stage of consciously preserving and interpreting its first quarter-century. The symbolic design of the new church made this history visible in the building itself. Images of the sea, a boat, and a lighthouse connected devotion to Mary, Star of the Sea, with the mission of proclaiming the Gospel, while the parishioners’ direct participation in fundraising became part of the church’s communal memory. The building can therefore be read as a physical witness to the parish’s formative period of growth.