About Korean Martyrs · Nashville, Tennessee
The Catholic Church of the Korean Martyrs is a Korean-language Roman Catholic parish in the Donelson neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, belonging to the Diocese of Nashville. The parish is dedicated to Sts. Andrew Kim Taegŏn, Paul Chong Ha-sang, and their 103 companion martyrs of the Korean Catholic Church. While the church building was constructed and dedicated in 2013, Korean Catholic immigrants in the Nashville area have been gathering regularly for prayer and worship since 1993. Today it serves the Korean-American Catholic community of Middle Tennessee with weekly Korean-language Mass on Sundays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
- Established
- 1993
- Patron
- Sts. Andrew Kim Taegŏn, Paul Chong Ha-sang, and the 103 Korean Martyrs
- Rector
- Father Youngseung Lee
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nashville
Why belong here
The parish is the spiritual home of the Korean-American Catholic community of the Nashville area, offering the Mass celebrated entirely in Korean three times a week — Sunday morning, plus Thursday and Friday mornings — and welcoming Korean-speaking Catholics from across Middle Tennessee. Visitors and newcomers note the warmth of the greeters and the pastor, who will translate parts of the liturgy for English speakers, making it an unusually hospitable parish for both native Koreans and anyone drawn to the Korean Catholic spiritual tradition. The parish also participates actively in the wider life of the Diocese of Nashville, including the Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministries.
Mass times at Korean Martyrs
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 10:00 AM (before Mass)
Parish Identity and Patrons
The Catholic Church of the Korean Martyrs is a parish of the Diocese of Nashville dedicated to Sts. Andrew Kim Taegŏn, Paul Chong Ha-sang, and the 103 companion Korean martyrs who gave their lives for the Catholic faith in 19th-century Korea. The Diocese of Nashville officially recognizes these 103 holy men and women — canonized together in Seoul on May 6, 1984 by Pope St. John Paul II — as the patrons of the Donelson parish. Their shared feast day in the universal calendar is September 20, a date the diocese highlights each year in its communications to the faithful.
- Patron: Sts. Andrew Kim Taegŏn, Paul Chong Ha-sang, and the 103 Korean Martyrs
- Feast Day: September 20
- Diocese: Diocese of Nashville
- Church dedicated: 2013
History of the Nashville Korean Catholic Community
Korean Catholic immigrants in the Nashville area began gathering regularly for prayer and worship in 1993, two decades before the parish had a building of its own. For years the community celebrated Mass and met for formation in shared or borrowed spaces until the construction of the permanent church at 2319 Lebanon Pike in Donelson. The parish was built and formally dedicated in 2013, giving the Nashville-area Korean Catholic faithful a permanent home. The parish's growth has been recognized at the diocesan level: it was one of the small parishes to meet its Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministries goal in 2018, alongside Our Lady of Lourdes in Springfield, St. Cecilia in Waynesboro, and Christ the Redeemer in Centerville.
- 1993 — Korean Catholics in Nashville begin gathering regularly for prayer and worship
- 2013 — Permanent church built and dedicated on Lebanon Pike in Donelson
- 2018 — Parish meets its Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministries goal
The 103 Korean Martyrs
The parish's name honors the 103 Korean martyrs canonized by Pope St. John Paul II on May 6, 1984 during his apostolic visit to Seoul — a break with tradition as it was the first major canonization held outside Rome. Christianity had entered Korea in the late 18th century, largely through laypeople, and over the following century between 8,000 and 10,000 Christians were killed for the faith in successive waves of persecution, including the 1839 Ki-hae persecution, the 1846 Pyong-o persecution, and the 1866 Pyong-in persecution. St. Paul Chong Ha-sang (c. 1794–1839) was a layman whose appeals to Rome secured official recognition of Korea's Catholic Church and the dispatch of further missionaries; he was martyred after writing a letter from prison defending the faith. St. Andrew Kim Taegŏn (1821–1846) was the first native Korean priest; ordained after seminary training in Macau, he returned to Korea in 1845 and was executed by the sword in 1846 at age 26 — he is now honored as the patron saint of Korean clergy.
- St. Andrew Kim Taegŏn (1821–1846): first Korean-born priest, patron of Korean clergy
- St. Paul Chong Ha-sang (c. 1794–1839): layman whose appeals brought Rome's recognition of Korean Catholics
- 103 martyrs canonized together in Seoul by Pope St. John Paul II on May 6, 1984
- An estimated 8,000–10,000 Korean Christians died over more than a century of persecution
Clergy
Father Youngseung Lee currently serves as pastor of the Church of the Korean Martyrs. Father Seondo Bang, a former pastor, was known for personally greeting visitors at Mass and translating his homily into English for non-Korean-speaking guests — a hospitality that pilgrims visiting the parish's 60-church pilgrimage across the diocese specifically remembered. The parish's small size means it is served by a limited priestly staff; pastoral needs in Korean for surrounding areas, such as Knoxville's Korean Catholic community, are also met by visits from the parish's priest.
- Father Youngseung Lee — current pastor
- Father Seondo Bang — former pastor
Reaching the Wider Korean Catholic Community
Because it is the principal Korean-language Catholic parish in Middle Tennessee, Korean Catholics travel to the Church of the Korean Martyrs from a wide region. The Knoxville Korean Catholic Community, for example, gathers monthly: on the third Saturday of each month they celebrate Korean Mass at a nearby American parish when the Nashville priest visits, and on the first Saturday of each month they join the Korean community for the special Saturday Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Nashville, with Sunday-school classes before Mass and a shared meal and fellowship afterward.
- First Saturday: Sacred Heart Cathedral Korean Saturday Mass
- Third Saturday: Korean Mass at a Knoxville-area parish, celebrated by the Nashville pastor
- Confessions heard before Mass; Korean community groups communicate via KakaoTalk chat
Visiting and Contact
The parish is located at 2319 Lebanon Pike in the Donelson neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee 37214. The telephone number listed by the Diocese of Nashville and GCatholic is (615) 953-6169. The parish maintains a simple Google Sites page (in Korean) at sites.google.com/view/kccofnashville/home, with sections for parish introduction (본당소개), Mass and sacraments (미사와 성사), and contact (연락처). The parish is also listed on the Diocese of Nashville's mass schedule and find-a-parish directories.
- Address: 2319 Lebanon Pike, Nashville, TN 37214
- Phone: (615) 953-6169
- Parish website: https://sites.google.com/view/kccofnashville/home
- Diocese: Diocese of Nashville (dioceseofnashville.com)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Seondo Bang
Welcomed visitors and translated homilies into English during his tenure as pastor.
- Father Youngseung Lee
Currently serves as pastor as of the most recent diocesan reporting (2024).