Hmong Community
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Morganton and Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Marion have welcomed the Hmong Catholic Community, with Father Ken Whittington, pastor of the Morganton parish, regularly offering Mass in the Hmong language. Hmong immigrants have also found a home at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greensboro – one of the most ethnically diverse parishes in the diocese.
North Carolina is home to an estimated 10,800 Hmong – the country’s fourth largest Hmong population. Supporters of the United States during the Vietnam War, Hmong refugees relocated to western North Carolina starting in 1975-1976, thanks in part to Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program and the support of local churches.
Hmong families have put down roots and thrived in McDowell, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties, where the mountains and agricultural lifestyle remind them of their homeland in southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand and Vietnam).
Learn more: “The Hmong’s Blue Ridge Refuge”