Korean Catholics form quasi-parish in Mesa
By Joyce Coronel | April 16, 2009 | The Catholic Sun
Korean Catholics have been a presence in the East Valley since 1983, but it wasn’t until January that St. Columba Kim Catholic Korean Mission became a quasi-parish.
The name is derived from a 19th century Korean woman who converted to Catholicism. She was tortured and eventually killed for the faith.
In large cities with migrant populations, bishops sometimes permit various ethnic groups to hold Masses in their native tongues and establish what is known as a quasi-parish.
As is typical with the establishment of a quasi-parish, a bishop of the country from which the believers have emigrated will send one of his priests to the other diocese for five years.
In this case, Bishop Paul Cheol-soo Hwang of the Diocese of Pusan in South Korea sent 40-year-old Fr. Minho Chang to minister to the Korean Catholic Community in the Phoenix Diocese.
About 250 people from all over the Phoenix metro area attend the Korean Masses held at Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. Fr. Chang celebrates Mass in Glendale at St. Rafael Parish as well.
On the move
Fr. John P. Wn celebrated the first Korean liturgy in the Diocese of Phoenix with 50 people in 1983 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Tempe. Five years later, the community moved to St. Daniel the Prophet in Scottsdale, where they remained until about two years ago.
Since 2006, the Korean Catholic community has celebrated Mass at Queen of Peace Parish. It’s a trilingual parish, with separate Masses held in English, Spanish and Korean. For the Easter triduum, the three groups prayed together in combined liturgies.
Sundays are busy at Queen of Peace and parking is at a premium. The Korean community is renting space from the parish but would eventually like to have its own worship space.
St. Columba is a vibrant and growing community two weekend Masses. There’s a Saturday evening liturgy at 8 p.m. and a Sunday afternoon Mass at 3:30 p.m.
A small group of women gathers in the first few pews of the church before Mass, kneeling and softly praying the rosary in unison. Children, who are often bilingual but may not understand Fr. Chang’s homily, receive a separate homily in English.
There’s plenty of socializing after Mass, too, with Korean food, snacks and doughnuts served to the hungry faithful, many of whom have traveled quite a distance to be part of the St. Columba Catholic Mission.
On most Sundays, young women sell statues of the Virgin Mary or various saints as well as rosaries or prayer books at a table outside the church or in the vestibule.
Religious education
Youngman Koh, the Sunday school principal and one of the youth group leaders, said there are 70 children enrolled in the religious education classes that take place before Mass on Sundays. The program is for children from kindergarten through high school and has 12 instructors.
About half of the working population of the community is connected to the high tech industry and the other half is engaged in business ventures. Koh, for example, is an engineer and the father of two sons who has lived in the United States for 15 years. His wife directs the choir at Mass.
He and Fr. Chang as well as other members of the community have met with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted to discuss their growth plan.
Paul Chang (no relation to the priest) is also an engineer, with two young children enrolled in religious education classes at St. Columba. He said the quasi-parish owns a small home in Tempe where Fr. Chang lives.
The home doubles as the Korean Community Center and gathering place. Prayer meetings and rosary groups as well as parish business meetings are held at the site.
Chang estimates there are about 20,000 Koreans in the Phoenix metro area. He said the establishment of St. Columba is a milestone for the Korean community.
“The Phoenix area is growing,” he said. “We needed some place to be together, our own identity. Our goal is to have our own place.”
