About St. Mary Magdalen · Milwaukee, Wisconsin
St. Mary Magdalen is a personal parish of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee designated in 2011 to serve Korean Catholics throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Located on the city's south side at 1854 W. Windlake Avenue, it celebrates Mass in Korean and welcomes members of the Korean-American Catholic community — and anyone interested in the faith — from Milwaukee and as far away as Green Bay. The parish is pastored by Fr. Suyoung Abraham Ruy, MSC, who has led the community since 2013, supported largely by lay volunteers.
- Established
- 1980 (Korean Catholic community) / 2011 (designated personal parish for Korean Catholics)
- Patron
- St. Mary Magdalen
- Rector
- Fr. Suyoung Abraham Ruy, MSC
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Why belong here
St. Mary Magdalen is the spiritual home of the Korean Catholic community in southeastern Wisconsin, offering the Mass, sacraments and parish life in Korean for families and individuals who often travel long distances — even from Green Bay — to worship in their own language and culture. The parish is small and largely volunteer-run, which fosters the close-knit, multigenerational relationships that longtime members describe as a source of spiritual comfort, especially during life's hardships. Visitors and newcomers — Korean-speaking or otherwise — are warmly welcomed to participate in Mass, Gospel meditation, Bible studies, Holy Hours on First Fridays and Saturdays, and partnership ministries with a nearby parish.
Mass times at St. Mary Magdalen
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:45 PM – 5:00 PM, or upon request
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration is offered (weekly; consult the parish website for current times)
Korean Catholic Community of Milwaukee
St. Mary Magdalen serves as the spiritual home of the Korean Catholic Community of Milwaukee, the only parish in southeastern Wisconsin designated specifically to celebrate the liturgy in Korean. It is a 'personal parish,' open to any Korean Catholic in the region regardless of where they live. Roughly 100–117 parishioners are registered, with an estimated 300–400 Korean Catholics in the greater Milwaukee area; families regularly travel from places as distant as Green Bay to attend Mass and sacramental life here.
- Designated personal parish for Korean Catholics (2011)
- Sunday Korean Mass
- Members travel from Green Bay and across SE Wisconsin
- Korean-language Bible study, Gospel meditation, and Holy Hours
History of the Community
Korean Catholic worship in Milwaukee began in 1980, when immigrants invited Columban Fr. Morty Kelly — already ministering to Korean Catholics in Chicago after years as a missionary in Korea — to say Mass in a local taekwondo gym. The community received its first resident priest, Jesuit Fr. Kim Jeong Woong, in 1981. Over the following decades, about a dozen priests rotated through, and Mass was celebrated at borrowed spaces including Marquette University's St. Joan of Arc Chapel, St. James in Franklin, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Kenosha, St. John Nepomuk in Racine, and Gesu Parish in Milwaukee. The community finally settled at St. Mary Magdalen on Windlake Avenue, and in 2011 Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki gave it permanent canonical status as a personal parish for Korean Catholics.
- 1980: First Korean Mass at a Milwaukee taekwondo gym (Fr. Morty Kelly, SSC)
- 1981: Fr. Kim Jeong Woong, SJ becomes first resident priest
- Multiple host parishes over 40 years
- 2011: Archbishop Listecki establishes personal parish at St. Mary Magdalen
- 2020: 40th anniversary of the community
Pastoral Leadership
Fr. Suyoung Abraham Ruy, MSC, a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, has served as pastor since 2013. Upon arriving he found the rectory, chapel, and parking lot in poor condition; with parishioner volunteers he repaired and replaced walls and the church roof. Fr. Ruy is also noted for directing a Korean translation of the Psalms and New Testament in the Jubilee Year of Mercy (2016). The parish relies heavily on lay volunteers and trustees for the rest of its operations.
- Fr. Suyoung Abraham Ruy, MSC — pastor since 2013
- Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) congregation
- Parish operates with few staff and many lay volunteers
Mass and Sacraments
Sunday Mass is celebrated in Korean and is the weekly center of parish life. Confessions are heard Saturday afternoons or by request, and Eucharistic Adoration is offered weekly. All sacraments — Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — are available; parishioners note that sacraments celebrated in Korean carry particular spiritual meaning for immigrant families.
- Sunday Korean Mass
- Confession: Saturday 4:45–5:00 PM or by request
- Weekly Eucharistic Adoration
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick on request
Devotions and Community Life
Outside of Mass, the parish sustains a robust devotional and faith-formation calendar. Regular activities include Gospel meditation, Bible studies, Holy Hours on First Fridays and First Saturdays, and a partnership with a nearby parish for Cursillo and other ministries. In 2016 (Year of Mercy), Fr. Ruy directed a Korean translation of the Psalms and New Testament — a project reflecting the community's commitment to making scripture accessible in the vernacular.
- Gospel meditation
- Bible study
- First Friday and First Saturday Holy Hours
- Cursillo (joint ministry with a nearby parish)
- Korean translation of Psalms and New Testament (2016)
Turning Point: The 2016 Tabernacle Flood
On January 1, 2016, a leak in the church ceiling soaked the tabernacle. Fr. Ruy recalled the shock of the moment — and the rapid response of parishioners who came to help clean up while holding back tears. He has described the episode as a defining moment that deepened the community's bonds and sense of shared ownership of the parish.
- January 1, 2016 ceiling leak
- Tabernacle damaged; parish rallied to clean up
- Called a 'turning point' for the community
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Morty Kelly, SSC1980 (visiting; based in Chicago)
Columban priest who celebrated the first Korean Mass in Milwaukee at a local taekwondo gym after learning Korean as a missionary.
- Fr. Kim Jeong Woong, SJ1981–
Jesuit; first resident priest for Korean Catholics in the Milwaukee area.
- Fr. Suyoung Abraham Ruy, MSC2013–present
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; oversaw repairs, the 2016 tabernacle leak recovery, and a Korean translation of the Psalms and New Testament in the Year of Mercy 2016.