Kojimachi St. Ignatius Church

St Ignatius in Kojimachi is the Roman Catholic parish church on the campus of Tokyo's Sophia University. The current building, consecrated in 1999 to a design by architect Sakakura Junzo, replaced a 1949 predecessor and pairs a circular main worship space with a freestanding angular chapel. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Tokyo and has been entrusted to the Jesuits since its founding in 1949, completing a direct line back to Sophia, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1908. The church is one of the busiest Catholic parishes in Japan, with Sunday Masses in Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Polish and Indonesian. Inside, visitors find a calm white interior under a circular skylight.