Korean Community
Many Korean Catholics worship at two parishes in the diocese: St. John Lee Catholic Church, located on Robinson Church Road in Charlotte; and St. Peter Yu Church, located on Romaine Street in Greensboro. The parishes are served by priests appointed through their home dioceses in South Korea. Masses are celebrated in Korean.
Both parishes are named for Korean martyrs – saints that Korean Catholics hold near and dear to their hearts. Pope John Paul II, who canonized 103 Korean Martyrs en masse in May 1984, noted, “The Korean Church is unique because it was founded entirely by laypeople. This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution. Thus, in less than a century, it could boast 10,000 martyrs. … The death of these many martyrs became the leaven of the Church and led to today’s splendid flowering of the Church in Korea.”
Korean Catholics who have settled in western North Carolina – primarily centered in Charlotte and the Triad – are proud of their faith and their traditions. Supportive and loving, the communities strive to worship in their native language and keep alive their heritage for their children.
Learn more: “Triad area Korean Catholics celebrate new church”