St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo

St. Ignatius Church
(聖イグナチオ教会)
Exterior of St. Ignatius Church in October 2007
Map
35°41′05″N 139°43′51″E / 35.68466500°N 139.73095500°E / 35.68466500; 139.73095500
Location6-5 Kōjimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083
Country Japan
DenominationCatholic
Membership17,152 (as of Dec.31, 2019)
Weekly attendanceMon-Sat: 9:00 am - 08:00 pm
Sun:09:00 am - 07:00 pm
Website[1]
History
Former name(s)St.Thérèse Church
Dedicated1949, 1999
Architecture
Completed1949, 1999
Clergy
Priest(s)Saturnino Ochoa, S.J.
Chaplain(s)Hermann Heuvers (1947-1966)
Johannes Bezikofer
Dominicus Hiroyuki Ikejiri
Josephus Koichi Matsumoto

The St. Ignatius Church (Japanese: 聖イグナチオ教会) is a Catholic church located in Kōjimachi district of Tokyo, Japan. Also known as the Kōjimachi Catholic Church, it was established with its current name on April 17, 1949, and is dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The dedication ceremony was offered by Archbishop Peter Tatsuo Doi.[1] The church is affiliated with the Jesuit Sophia University and it is located near Yotsuya Station.[2]

History

Before the founding of St. Ignatius, there was a catholic church near its current location in Kōjimachi. This church was called Saint Theresa of the Infant Jesus and it was burned down during an air raid in 1945. Temporarily, the Sophia University Jesuit chapel served as the Kōjimachi church.[3]

The first building of the St. Ignatius church, designed by the Jesuit architect Ignatius Gropper, was a wooden structure that could fit 500 people.[4] It was completed and dedicated in 1949. Construction of the current building started in May 1995. The church now has an oval-shape which symbolizes life and resurrection, and a floor space of 1,450 sq. meters. The structure has 12 columns representing the 12 apostles and 12 stained glass windows with nature themes.[5]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the church served boxed bento lunches to people in need.[6]

Interior, October 2007

The German Jesuit scholar and playwright Herman Heuvers was the first pastor of St. Ignatius Church, and was honorary pastor when he died in 1977.[7]

The Jesuit theologian and scholar of Zen Buddhism, Heinrich Dumoulin, was buried in the church after his death in 1995.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Kōjimachi Catholic Church". Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  2. ^ "Kojimachi". Japan Experience. 29 January 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ^ "麹町わがまち情報館". koujimachi.net. Archived from the original on 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  4. ^ Tomioka, Yoshito; Tabata, Chikako; Uchikawa, Izumi (10 April 2023). "Design process of the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace (1954), Hiroshima, by Togo Murano (Part 1): A chronological overview of graphic materials and formal manipulations observed in early design schemes". Japan Architectural Review. 6 (1). doi:10.1002/2475-8876.12352. ISSN 2475-8876.
  5. ^ "St. Ignatius Church reveals initial phase of facelift". The Japan Times. 1998-01-09. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  6. ^ Kunieda, Sumire; Shiota, Aya (2021-01-04). "Women, families, foreigners in Tokyo food line as pandemic-induced poverty tightens grip". The Mainichi. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  7. ^ "HERMAN HEUVERS". The New York Times. 1977-06-10. p. 26. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  8. ^ Van Bragt, Jan (1995). "In memoriam: Heinrich Dumoulin (1905–1995)". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 22 (3–4): 459–461.