Marian devotion
In Yeongdeungpo-dong, one of the historic districts of southwestern Seoul, a Catholic community has as its patron of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memory contemplates Mary as a person entirely available to God and encourages her to offer her daily life with freedom, fidelity and service.
Advocation: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Official Korean name: Skills Songmo Jaheon, literally "offer or consecration of Mary."
Temple: INTERVIEW · Yeongdeungpodong Catholic Church.
Address: 9 Bedeunaruro 5-gil, Yeongdeungpo-dong 2-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 07253, South Korea.
Foundation: 3 May 1973.
Jurisdiction: Archdiocese of Seoul, western Seoul region, 15 Yeongdeungpo- Geumcheon district.
Coordinates checked: 37.5215553, 126.9105108.
A Marian patronazgo confirmado
The Bishops' Conference of Korea Skills as patronage of the parish. Good News Catholic reproduces the same record and makes it possible to corroborate its identity, domicile and ecclesial membership.
A local Marian apparition is not documented here. This is a parochial dedication to the liturgical memory of the Presentation of Mary.
What celebrates the Presentation of Mary
The Christian tradition recalls Mary's dedication to God from her youth. The episode is not narrated in the canon Gospels; therefore the Church does not present it as a verifiable biblical chronicle, but as a spiritual memory received from tradition.
St. John Paul II explained that it is a feast much loved by the Eastern tradition and also held in the West since the 14th century. He presents Mary as a temple of God and as a servant who gives himself entirely to the Lord.
A memory of oriental roots
The feast shows a bridge between the Eastern and West Churches. His language of offer expresses that Mary's life was directed towards the will of God.
Celebrating it in Korea unites the local community with a Christian tradition that crossed cultures, languages and centuries.
Availability for the Word
The meaning of the feast is illuminated by the Gospels: Mary hears the announcement, asks and answers freely. His surrender does not nullify his intelligence or his will.
Benedict XVI, in recalling this memory, invited us to imitate his readiness to receive the word and will of the Lord, becoming living temples of his presence.
An offering that is not a sacrifice of dignity
To offer to God does not mean to tolerate abuse, violence or religious manipulation. Mary's answer is free; every Christian vocation must respect conscience and dignity.
The parish honors its patron when it creates safe spaces, listens to the victims and accompanies without imposing.
The community born in 1973
The parish was erected 3 May 1973. A local Catholic review indicates that it was born when it separated from the parish of Dangsana-dong, a fact consistent with a historical source of Good News on that mother community.
The public sources consulted do not offer a complete chronology of buildings, works or founding priests. This page does not attribute details that cannot yet be demonstrated.
In the urban landscape of Yeongdeungpo
The temple is located between streets historically linked to workshops, commerce and urban work. The parish thus lives its invocation not in isolation, but between working days, movements and accelerated changes.
The presentation of one's own life can be realized in honest work, care of the family, neighbouring solidarity and time offered to those who are alone.
A community of the archdiocese of Seoul
The episcopal directory is located in the western region of the Archdiocese and in the pastoral district of Yeongdeungpo- Geumcheon. It records 1,831 faithful and the presence of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.
These are administrative data subject to update. The parish telephone published by the Episcopal Conference is 02-2631-8657; it is appropriate to confirm the hours directly before going.
Mary, living temple
The invocation invites each person to look as the dwelling place of God. Hence, respect for the body, the consciousness and the history of every human being is born.
A church dedicated to the Presentation of Mary is called to welcome with special delicacy those who enter for the first time, those who return after years and those who seek help without knowing how to express it.
Prayer and contemplative life
On November 21, the Church also recalls the contemplative communities on the day Pro Orantibus. His silent prayer sustains needs that often pass unnoticed.
The parish can live this dimension by reserving times of silence, praying for monasteries and caring for those who consecrate their lives to intercession.
Youth and discernment
The memory of a young Mary offered to God may accompany vocational questions, but it should never be used to press decisions.
Discerning requires prayer, information, time, competent accompaniment and real freedom. The community serves when it helps to listen without deciding instead of the person.
Service in a big city
In a metropolis like Seoul they can live together with multitude and solitude. Older people, migrants, precarious workers and separate families need close networks.
The Christian offering is made concrete by sharing time, defending rights, visiting sick people and supporting those in crisis.
For the peace of Korea
From Yeongdeungpo- dong can be asked for families separated by the peninsula, for those who live in fear and for those responsible for seeking justice and reconciliation.
Mary teaches an active availability: to listen to God to collaborate with a peace that protects truth and human dignity.
verified location for the map
The official directory places the parish in 9 Beodeunaru-ro 5- gil. The joint mapping of the Korean name and address places the building in 37.5215553, 126.9105108.
The marker corresponds to the temple, not to the center of Yeongdeungpo-gu or to a church of different denomination.
To visit and pray
In the face of this advocation, daily work can be offered, to ask for light for a decision and to pray for those who live consecrated to God.
One ten of the Rosary can also be prayed for the young, one for the single people of the city and another for the reconciliation of all of Korea.
Prayer to the Presentation of Mary of Yeongdeungpo-dong
Mary, a woman entirely available to God, accompanies the community of Yeongdeungpo- dong. Teach us to listen to the Word with freedom, to offer work with honesty and to serve without seeking reward. It protects young people who discern their path, those who live alone in the great city and the consecrated people who support the world with their prayer. Make us living temples of the presence of your Son and servants of peace throughout Korea. Amen.
Sources consulted
- Episcopal Conference of Korea: official file of Yeongdeungpo-dong.
- Good News Catholic: corroboration of the parish record.
- Local Catholic Review of Yeongdeungpo-dong and its Parish Origin.
- St. John Paul II: meaning and tradition of the Presentation of Mary.
- Benedict XVI: availability of Mary to the Word and will of God.
- Cartography used to verify the building.
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