St. Andrew Kim

Parish Identity & Patron Saint

St. Andrew Kim Parish in Cleveland is named for St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846), the first native Korean Catholic priest, who was ordained in China in 1845 at age 25 and almost immediately arrested and beheaded by officials of the ruling Joseon Dynasty for his Christian faith. He is one of the 103 Korean Martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 6, 1984, during his visit to Korea. Their collective memorial is celebrated on September 20. A relic of St. Andrew Kim Taegon was received by the Cleveland Korean Catholic community in 1996, and on August 24, 1997 Bishop Anthony M. Pilla celebrated Mass and formally unveiled a statue of the parish's patron in the Tremont church.

History of the Cleveland Korean Catholic Community

The congregation that became St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church was launched in 1978 in the basement chapel of St. Ann Church in Cleveland Heights. A year later, in 1979, Father Francis Kwang Nam Kim — a priest from the Scranton, Pennsylvania Catholic Diocese — formally established the Cleveland Korean Catholic community. As the community outgrew its beginnings, it moved into an unused school building belonging to St. Augustine Parish in Tremont, whose classrooms were converted into a chapel. The community worshipped there until 1988, when it purchased its own church and rectory on West 14th Street.

• 1978 – community begins in the basement chapel of St. Ann Church, Cleveland Heights
• 1979 – Father Francis Kwang Nam Kim formally establishes the Cleveland Korean Catholic community
• 1980s – community worships in a converted school building at St. Augustine Parish, Tremont
• October 1, 1987 – Diocese of Cleveland takes control of the former Polish National Church on behalf of St. Andrew Kim
• 1988 – community moves into its present church at 2310 West 14th Street
• 1996 – parish receives a relic of St. Andrew Kim Taegon
• August 24, 1997 – Bishop Anthony M. Pilla celebrates Mass and unveils statue of the patron saint

The Tremont Church Building

The current home of St. Andrew Kim was built in 1917 as the Polish National Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Designed by Cleveland architect James L. Cameron, it stands on the west side of West 14th Street on a site the Polish community purchased in November 1916. Polish congregants worshipped here until the mid-1980s, when the building closed. Its later acquisition by the Korean Catholic community is part of Tremont's long pattern of successive immigrant groups re-purposing each other's sacred structures — Germans, Greeks, Syrians, African Americans, Hispanics, and others have all left their mark on the neighborhood's church buildings.

Clergy & Parish Leadership

The parish is currently served by Rev. Charles C. Shin as pastor and Jaehee Park as administrator, according to the Diocese of Cleveland parish directory. The parish also functions as the Korean American Apostolate Pastoral Center for the diocese, supporting Korean Catholic ministry across northeastern Ohio. The community's founding priest, Father Francis Kwang Nam Kim of the Scranton Diocese, formally established the Cleveland Korean Catholic community in 1979.

• Pastor: Rev. Charles C. Shin
• Administrator: Jaehee Park
• Founding priest: Rev. Francis Kwang Nam Kim (Scranton Diocese), 1979

Ministry to Korean Catholics Across Northeastern Ohio

Beyond its regular Sunday and Thursday Masses, St. Andrew Kim serves as the spiritual epicenter for Korean Catholics throughout northeastern Ohio, helping Korean immigrants adjust to life in the United States and organizing religious lectures and retreats. The parish also extends its reach through a satellite Canton-area community that gathers for Mass on the third Saturday of each month, and through its role as the diocesan Korean American Apostolate office.

• Korean immigrant outreach and adjustment support
• Religious lectures and retreats
• Canton-area Korean Catholic satellite community (third Saturday Mass)
• Diocesan Korean American Apostolate housed at the parish