A line stretches from the entrance of the cafeteria to the front of the room where a young priest awaits.

Parishioners — some going one-by-one, others in groups — shuffle toward Benedict Seyong Yang to receive a first blessing and offer their congratulations on his ordination.

A day like this is momentous not only for the newly-ordained priest, but for a Korean Catholic community that rarely sees one of its own reach such status. 

He’s the fourth Korean American to be ordained a priest into the Diocese of Orange, Calif., but on this day, he is more like a rock star.

They shower him with attention, flowers and affection. Some take photos with Yang, who is clad in priest regalia, wearing a lei made of pale green orchids.

Yang, a reticent 30-year-old, is moved by the outpouring of affection from the older parishioners who see him as a point of pride, the young adults he taught and mentored, and the fellow priests who helped him on his journey to priesthood.

 

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The spotlight on Yang is warranted. Despite the growing number of Catholic Koreans in the country, the population — estimated at 70,000 — is underrepresented in seminaries and dioceses throughout the nation, making ordinations a rarity and even more significant within the Korean community.

In Orange County, for example, only four diocesan Korean priests, including Yang, serve more than an estimated 5,000 Korean Catholics in the county.

The figures in Orange County may be a microcosm of national trends. More Catholic Koreans are emerging in dozens of communities throughout the country, and there are fewer priests to represent them. Priests from South Korea — where Catholicism dates back 200 years — travel to the U.S. on temporary assignments, but often go back after several years.

More than 10,000 Korean Catholics reside in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia area, said Fr. Paul Lee, who was the first ordained Korean American priest. Currently, he is a pastor at Epiphany Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.

“Ever since then, some have entered the seminaries with a varying degree of success,” he says. “The number of priests is far insufficient. … We can have a lot more, and I hope more young people consider responding to the Lord’s call. They say it’s not a job. It’s an adventure.”

Lee, 51, who was ordained in 1983 to the Archdiocese of Washington, attributes the lack of Korean American priests to the commitment required to be one.

It hasn’t helped that the Catholic Church has been under fire for reports of molestations by priests, or that the idea of a lifetime of celibacy is difficult to digest by a second generation raised during a “sex sells” era.

Lee says the lack of Korean priests is frustrating.

“People have this relativism, and belief in God is not taken all that seriously. The selfishness has to do with immaturity,” he says. “Committing your whole life to the cause and to God and to the church is a huge commitment. Not many young people are ready to do that.”