Name

Hachiōji Catholic Church

Dedicated to

All Saints

Date of Establishment

1877

Parish Priest

Shigeru Francis X. TSUJI

Number of Parishioners

1,870 (as of Dec.31,2019)

Sunday Mass

Sat. 16:00 (Japanese) /Sun. 7:00am (J) / 10:00am (J)/ 4th Sun. 10:00am (J) *Mass with Sign Language

2nd / 4th Sat. 9:30am (Spanish) 　2nd Sun. 13:00 (English)

Weekday Mass

Tue./Thu. 7:00am, Fri. 10:00am

Sunday School

Sat. 14:30-16:00 Class for elementary school children

Sun.10:00 After the Mass, Class for Junior High School and High school Students

Bible Study

Friday 10:00 After the Mass For the beginners Sat.10:00 &. 18:00

Volunteer Activities

Vincentians Visit the sick and the old who can’t come to the church, keeping contact on a personal level. The Brazil Supporting Association Providing various aid for Hansen’s Disease clinics, orphanages, day-care program for poor families. St. Andrew’s Living with individuals with disabilities. Providing aid for students studying at seminaries in Myanmar.

Activity

Please inquiries to the church.

Address

16-3 Hon-chō, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0066

Telephone

042-622-1642

Fax

042-627-6490

Website

http://homepage3.nifty.com/all_saints/

Facilities for the Handicapped

Slope (or Barrier free), Toilet

Directions

17～18 minutes walk from Keio Hachioji Station on Keio Line. 10 minutes walk from Hachioji Station on JR Chuo Line. Take Fujimori loop-line bus or the bus for Takao-Sanguchi or Nagafusa Danchi, and get off at Youka-machi stop. 1 minute walk from the stop. By bus: At the bus terminal, in front of Keio Hachioji Station, take the bus No.”Hachi 02″ or ” Hachi 03″ for Nagafusa-danchi. the bus No.”Hachi 04″ or ” Hachi 06″ for Tategaoka-danchi. the bus No.”Hachi 05″ for Shiroyamate. the bus No.”Hachi 91″ for Kami-Ofuna. the bus No.”Hachi 92″ for Housei Daigaku. the bus No.”Hachi 93″ for Tokyo Kasei Gakuin. and get off at “Youkamachi- icchome” bus stop. The church is only 1 minute walk from there. By car it takes about 15 minutes driving 4 kilometers from Hachioji Exit No.1 of Chuō-jidōsha-dō (Chuō freeway). About 4.5 kilometers drive from Hachiōji interchange takes 20 minutes on the same Chuo freeway. Parking space available for total of 20 vehicles. GoogleMap

Parish History

History

In 1876 Fr.Testevuide Germain, Leger, M.E.P.,who was visiting the region of Shimoichibugata dropped off at Hachioji about 4km away from there to evangelize the people of Hachioji too. He tired his best as he did to the people at Shimoichibugata but at the beginning his work was not so much successful. But after the family of Mr.Goro Tsukamoto had moved from Yokohama to Hachioji, he offered his house for the sake of Fr. Testevuide and then he often stayed there when he came to Hachioji. By the influence of Mr. Tsukamoto the number of the christian had been increased gradually. In 1877 the Catholic Hachiōji Church was founded in the former Hachiōji Village. In 1884 the preacher of the church rented a house at Youkamachi and soon after the mission activities became real and it bore many fruits. In 1889 the new chapel was built at Misakicho. In 1892 Hachioji became a part of Tokyo Prefecture from Kanagawa Prefecture, the population was also increased and then the town was developed gradually. The mission activity of Fr.Testevuide was remarkable and his working area included all Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa prefecture and even Hamamatsu district to the west. But at last he become sick in bed and had no other choice but to leave Hachioji in 1890. His mission was taken over by Fr.Drouart De Lezey , Fr. Vigroux, and Fr. Cadillac and they went round to pastor the people of Hachioji and Shimoichibugata in addition to their churches in the assigned districts. On November in 1892 Fr. Mereau arrived as a new chaplain. A big fire had burnt the village of Shimoichibugata in the same year of January and the whole village was not yet recovered from it. In 1896, he purchased a land of 600 tsubo (1980 ㎡) and started the construction of new chapel. In October of the same year, new chapel was completed and grand dedication ceremony was celebrated. But the tragedy fit the church again on April 22, 1897 just six months after the new construction. A Big fire of Hachioji burnt out the new buildings of the church. A one-storied small house was temporary built in the ruins right away and used for the chapel, parsonage and assembly hall. After 16 years, in 1913 long awaited new chapel was newly constructed at last and the dedication ceremony was solemnly celebrated by Archbishop Jean Pierre Rey. In 1936 Fr. Mereau left his role to a Japanese priest as his successor and then resigned at Kiyose after his 44 years long pastoral services to Hachioji region. Because of his dedicated influential mission work, many youth got their vocation to priesthood and they bear the fruits as of now in and out of the Tokyo Diocese. In 1950 the present Church was dedicated. The rectory used as an assembly hall was built in 1992. From Hachioji parish, Tachikawa Church, Machida Church, Oume Church, Itsukaichi Church and Toyoda Church have been separated from Hachioji Parish and became each independent parish. Now they have grown actively by caring out their mission at present. Thus the seeds sowed unstintingly by the early missionaries have borne fruit abundantly today. (From Tokyo Archdiocese News No.88 , 1991 November)