About St. Andrew Kim Taegon · Montgomery, Alabama
St. Andrew Kim Taegon Parish is a small Korean-Catholic personal parish serving the Korean Catholic community of Montgomery, Alabama, within the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile. Founded in August 2003, the parish is currently led by Fr. Byeong C. Jang and worships at 433 Clayton Street in the historic Cottage Hill neighborhood, in a 1910 Italian Romanesque-style church building that was formerly the parish of St. Andrew the Apostle before being rededicated. All Masses at the parish are celebrated in Korean, with one Sunday Mass and three weekday Masses (Wednesday–Friday), and a Sunday-morning opportunity for Confession. The community of roughly 70 households (about 150 faithful) gathers around the patron saint, St. Andrew Kim Taegon — the first native Korean Catholic priest, martyred in 1846 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984.
- Established
- 2003
- Patron
- St. Andrew Kim Taegon
- Rector
- Rev. Byeong C. Jang
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile
Why belong here
St. Andrew Kim Taegon is the Korean Catholic heart of Montgomery — a personal parish founded in 2003 by and for the local Korean Catholic faithful, where every Mass is celebrated in Korean. With a tight-knit community of around 70 households, weekly Mass on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., weekday Masses Wednesday through Friday at 10:00 a.m., and Sunday-morning Confession from 10:30 to 10:50 a.m., it offers a place to worship in your own language and culture within the Archdiocese of Mobile. The parish also maintains an active Cursillo group (the lay-missionary movement), giving parishioners a way to grow spiritually and serve the wider community.
Mass times at St. Andrew Kim Taegon
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
St. Andrew Kim Taegon Parish
St. Andrew Kim Taegon is a Korean Catholic personal parish in Montgomery, Alabama, founded in August 2003 and entrusted to the pastoral care of Fr. Byeong C. Jang. It is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile. The parish is small — about 70 households, or roughly 150 faithful — and its identity is shaped by the Korean Catholic community it was created to serve.
- Founded: August 2003
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Mobile
- Pastor: Rev. Byeong C. Jang
- Address: 433 Clayton Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
- Phone: (334) 262-3241
- Languages: Korean
History of the Parish
St. Andrew Kim Taegon was established in 2003 to give Montgomery's growing Korean Catholic community a home where the faith could be lived and celebrated in their own language. The community settled into the historic former St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Cottage Hill — a 1910 Italian Romanesque-style building — and rededicated it to the first native Korean Catholic priest, St. Andrew Kim Taegon. The rededication was marked physically by the installation of a six-foot statue of St. Andrew Kim Taegon beside the tower door. Depicted in traditional Korean yangban (aristocratic) clothing with a priest's stole, holding a book and quill pen and giving a blessing, the statue links the Korean Catholic faithful of central Alabama to their national patron saint.
- Established August 2003
- Worship site: former St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Cottage Hill
- Building style: 1910 Italian Romanesque
- Statue of St. Andrew Kim Taegon at the tower door
St. Andrew Kim Taegon — The Patron Saint
St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846) was the first native Korean Catholic priest. Born into a yangban (aristocratic) family of Catholic converts, he was baptized at 15, studied at the seminary in Macau, and was ordained a priest in Shanghai, China, in 1844. He was arrested while helping more missionaries enter Korea by sea and was tortured and beheaded in 1846 at age 25. His father, Kim Ignatius, had been martyred for the faith in 1839 and was beatified in 1925. During his 1984 visit to Korea, Pope John Paul II canonized Kim Taegon together with 100 Korean laypeople and clergy and three French missionaries to Korea — the 103 Korean Martyrs. Pope Francis later beatified an additional 124 Korean martyrs during his August 2014 visit to Korea. The memorial of the Korean Martyrs is celebrated on September 20.
- Born 1821 in Korea, executed 1846
- Ordained in Shanghai in 1844 — first native Korean Catholic priest
- Canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984
- Feast / memorial of the Korean Martyrs: September 20
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Fr. Byeong C. Jang, who serves as Pastor. He is supported by an active Cursillo group of lay faithful and a parish council/leadership structure. A separate listing by the Korean Catholic Cursillo office for the Southeast U.S. (dongnamboo.org) also names Fr. Philippo Chu (주영일 필립보) as a contact priest associated with the parish's spiritual direction.
- Pastor: Rev. Byeong C. Jang
- Parish phone: (334) 262-3241
- Parish fax: (334) 262-7943
Ministries & Community Life
The parish supports the Cursillo movement — a Catholic lay-formation movement rooted in the Spanish Cursillo de Cristiandad — through a local group of four men and five women. The Cursillo team meets after Mass on the first Sunday of each month. As a small personal parish of about 70 households, the community emphasizes personal relationships, language-specific faith formation, and connection to the wider Korean Catholic faithful across the Southeast.
- Cursillo movement (4 men, 5 women)
- Team meeting: first Sunday of the month, after Mass
- Parish contact for Cursillo: 김경근 요아킴 (Daniel Kim)
Sacraments
The parish's published schedule points to Confession being offered in Korean before Sunday Mass. For information about Baptism, Marriage, First Communion, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, and other sacraments, parishioners are directed to contact the parish office directly.
- Confession: Sunday 10:30 AM – 10:50 AM (Korean)
- Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM (Korean)
- Weekday Masses: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 10:00 AM (Korean)
Visiting & Contact
St. Andrew Kim Taegon Parish is located at 433 Clayton Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, in the Cottage Hill neighborhood. The parish office can be reached by phone at (334) 262-3241 (fax 334-262-7943). The parish is registered in the Archdiocese of Mobile's online Parish Finder, where it is listed alongside other parishes in the Montgomery area. Because the community is small and Korean-language-centered, the best first step for visitors is to call ahead to confirm Mass times and introduce themselves to the pastor.
- Address: 433 Clayton Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
- Phone: (334) 262-3241
- Fax: (334) 262-7943
- Parish Finder listing: https://mobarch.org/parishfinder
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Byeong C. Jang
Current pastor, per Join My Church and United States Churches directories; listed as the parish's leader.