Mendon Cathedral


In the capital of South Korea - Seoul - is the Catholic Cathedral of Myeongdong Cathedral. It is also called the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The construction is considered a national historical and architectural monument and has a rich history.

general information

The church was built in 1898 on May 29 in Mendon Street , from which the name of the shrine began. The cathedral was built during the reign of the late Joseon Dynasty, when Christians were considered a minority and oppressed. The founder of the attraction is Bishop Jean Blanc.

In 1882, he bought land with his own money and began the construction of the educational center and the Temple of Mendon. The consecration of the cornerstone took place only after 10 years. Works on the erection of the church were conducted under the guidance of the Paris priests, who belonged to the society of foreign missions.

Here the Union of all Catholic churches of the country was born, therefore the cathedral of Mendon received the status of the Cathedral and began to concern the Seoul archdiocese. The cloister is built of gray and red bricks, the facade of the building has no decorations. The height of the structure, together with the spire on which the large clock is mounted, is 45 m. It was the tallest building in the capital at the end of the 20th century.

Inside the cathedral of Mendon you can see arch arches and stained-glass windows. They depict the paintings from the Bible: Christ with the 12 apostles, the birth of Jesus, the worship of the Magi, etc.

What is the temple famous for?

This church by the standards of Christianity is considered young. There is not a lot of rare artifacts. True, the mere fact of building a temple at that time makes the shrine unique. It was also the first building in the country, built in the Neo-Gothic style.

During the existence of the cathedral of Mendon, there have occurred such significant events:

  1. In the 70-80s, Korean priests took part in the confrontation with the country's military government. They gave shelter to all the demonstrators who spoke on the side of the public.
  2. In 1976, a meeting was held in the Mendon Cathedral, the purpose of which was the resignation of the government headed by Pak Jong-hee. Not only demonstrators took part in the meeting, but also the future president of the country, Kim Dae-jung.
  3. In 1987 there were 600 students in the church. They went on a hunger strike after a terrible torture of a student named Chen Chol was killed.

In 1900 in the church were buried the relics of local martyrs, transferred from the seminary to Yonsang. They perished as a result of the persecution and persecution of Christians throughout South Korea. In 1984, they were canonized by Pope John Paul II. In all, 79 people were counted among the blessed. The most famous of them are:

In the right nave of the temple even built a special altar with an icon on which all 79 martyrs are depicted. In 1991, the remains were moved to stone sarcophagi, and near them a lithographic stone was installed. On it the names of saints were carved. For the convenience of the pilgrims, the entrance to the shrines was made of glass.

Features of visit

Currently, in the Cathedral of Myeongdong in Seoul, religious rituals (services, baptisms, weddings) are constantly held, therefore, during the visit, it is necessary to observe silence. You can enter the temple only with closed shoulders and knees.

The church is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 in the morning until 19:00 in the evening. Here there is a church shop selling candles and thematic literature. The Cathedral of Mendon is included in the list of national monuments of the country under number 258.

How to get there?

You can reach the temple by buses Nos. 9205, 9400, 9301, 500, 262, 143, 0014, 202. The stops are in front of the Lotte department store and the Central Theater. If you decide to go by subway , then take the 2nd line. The station is called Mendon 4.