Wirye Teresa Catholic Church

History & origins

The new parish in the Wirye area was established by the Diocese of Suwon on June 21, 2016, under the name “Wirye Changgok-dong Parish.” The name initially followed the diocesan rule of using the administrative neighborhood name, but Wirye New Town had the unusual situation of containing areas belonging to both the Diocese of Suwon and the Archdiocese of Seoul. In 2017 the parish therefore adopted its current name, “Wirye St. Teresa,” and took St. Teresa of Calcutta as its patron.

After the parish was established, the community spent several years preparing a permanent church. On May 14, 2022, Bishop John the Baptist Moon Hee-jong, Vicar of the Second Vicariate, presided over the entrance Mass in the new church. From then on, parish life was centered on the new building on Wirye-dong-ro, giving the growing new-town community a stable place to gather.

On June 21, 2026, the tenth anniversary of the parish’s establishment was celebrated together with the solemn dedication of the church, presided over by Bishop Mathias Lee Yong-hoon. During the preceding decade, parishioners had continued prayer and fundraising for the church, and the dedication formally consecrated the completed building to God.

The history of Wirye St. Teresa Parish can therefore be seen as a process in which a parish was created alongside a new town, its name was adjusted to the particular diocesan geography of the area, and the community gradually built both its identity and its permanent church through entrance and final dedication. In preparation for the tenth-anniversary dedication, the parish displayed photographs and records from its first decade and prepared a commemorative booklet, gathering memories from the founding of the community in the new town through the completion of the church. This was an effort not only to complete a building but also to preserve the history of a community formed within a relatively short period.