St. Ignatius Catholic Church

Of modern architecture, this church has a distinctive circular structure and is quite the landmark in Yotsuya. It is probably the biggest Catholic Church in Tokyo. It is easily reachable by a 3 minute walk from the Yotsuya station and seems to be part of the Sophia University campus.

The church is very busy on Sundays with masses in Japanese, Spanish and English. English mass is at 12noon on Sundays and is very well attended by many different nationalities. Despite the modern architecture, the Sunday mass is very solemn and traditional with most of the pomp and practices of Catholic masses with full complement of altar servers dressed in traditional garb. Printed colored pamphlets contain church news and points to ponder for each week. And a black and white pamphlet for the current mass readings and responses is also distributed before the mass. There always seems to be scheduled bible discussions on Sunday afternoons in one of the many rooms in the building adjacent to the church. Schedules and topics in the distributed pamphlets.

The interior design is awe inspiring with the beautiful lotus lamp in the ceiling, and the beautifully incorporated stained glass accents.

There is a daily mass in Japanese at 6pm and this church seems to be open daily until 7pm which is so encouraging to visit almost anytime to find peace and solace. Despite the massiveness of the structure, the inside is quiet, very peaceful and conducive to meditation. Although the Sunday noon mass can be very well attended, ushers are always around to point one to empty seats. They are also there to guide one in the direction of accepting Holy Communion thereby ensuring an orderly process.

A small store is located in the grounds selling little religious knickknacks and is open on Sundays. A life sized statue of the Virgin Mary stands silently inside the church and another in a grotto in the church grounds.

This church is a wonderful place of refuge for Catholics and would also be an interesting spot for non Catholics to visit.