Sinheung-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

Sinheung-dong Parish was established on September 18, 1984, after being separated from Sujin-dong Parish. Seongnam’s official city history also records how rapid population growth after the development of the Gwangju Housing Complex led to the successive creation of parishes such as Dandae-dong, Seongnam-dong, and Sinheung-dong from Sujin-dong. The founding of Sinheung-dong was thus part of a pastoral response to the rapid expansion of Seongnam’s older urban districts.

Four years after its establishment, the parish dedicated its church in December 1988, giving the new community a stable physical base. Diocesan records later note its local missionary activities, including serving meals to elderly residents, while internally the parish held a synod to review youth faith life and evangelization.

The parish also contributed to efforts to commemorate and develop the Namhansanseong martyr site. Its history therefore extends beyond the management of a parish church and reflects a broader participation in preserving the memory of martyrdom in the Seongnam area. From its beginnings in urban expansion, the parish gradually widened its role within both local society and the historical memory of the diocese. Its participation in commemorating a martyr site is especially significant because it shows a relatively modern parish, born from urban development, deliberately connecting itself with an older memory of the Church. A community created by urbanization gradually became an agent for discovering and preserving the region’s historical Catholic heritage. Taken together, the parish’s separation, church construction, local service, and work of commemorating martyrs show a movement from a community created by urban growth toward one that also helps preserve the memory of the local Church.