SEOUL, Jul. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A church that caters to those with hearing impairment will be built in Seoul in 2019.
The Catholic Church for the Deaf of Seoul announced on Wednesday plans to build a church for deaf people in the neighborhood of Majang in Seongdong District.
According to community officials, bishop Yu Gyeong-chon from the Archdiocese of Seoul will say mass at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church held at the construction site on Friday.
Though there was a church built in Incheon in 2011 where hearing impaired people could pray, it’s the first time for a Catholic church to be built in the South Korean capital where mass will be held in sign language.
The Catholic Church for the Deaf previously occupied a building owned by the Missionary Benedictine sisters of Tutzing, but the growing number of mass attendees after Asia’s first deaf priest Park Min-seo was appointed forced the church to seek a larger space.
In a written interview, Park said, “It overwhelms me to think that this is a step closer to building a place where we can praise god.”
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)