Asian Catholics have been growing in population and prominence for many years. In the 2025 conclave, there were 23 cardinal electors from Asia, more than double the 10 that participated in the previous conclave of 2013. Outside Europe, Asia had more cardinal electors than any other continent—a sign that the Church in Asia has come of age among Catholicism’s 1.3 billion global members.
What is perhaps just as exciting is the growth of Asian American communities across the United States, many of whom Catholic Extension Society has been privileged to work with and support.
In the last two censuses since 2000, no racial/ethnic group has grown faster than Asian Americans, which grew by 81% during that period, which is faster than the growth of Latinos (70%) during that same period.
What’s more, the single largest religion practiced among Asian Americans is Christianity (34%). Among Asian American Christians, roughly half are Catholic according to the Pew Center.
Today there are about 3 million Asian Catholics in the U.S., according to a study commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
While still a minority, the profound faith, demographic growth and the innumerable contributions of Asian American Catholics are felt across the country.
Asian Catholics throughout the US
Asian American Catholics are not just concentrated in major metropolitan areas—such as the Diocese of Orange’s Christ Cathedral in California where five of their 11 weekend Masses are celebrated in an Asian language. Rather, the contributions of Asian Catholics are seen and felt in many areas where there are traditionally few Catholics.
This includes places like Mother of Good Counsel in the heart of Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains, where Catholics represent less than 1% of the population. Nonetheless, the church enjoys a steady population of Filipino Catholic healthcare workers who have helped revitalize this parish. One family of parishioners celebrates the baptism of their child at Mother of Good Counsel in the photo below.
Likewise, St. Mary’s on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, only accessible by plane or boat, has a vibrant Catholic faith parish of 1,400 people, thanks to the faithfulness of many Asian Americans who came to the area years ago to work in the fish canneries; they have made this northerly island their parish home.
At St. Mary’s – part of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau – the Kodiak Filipino American Association hosted Flores de Mayo – a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary held during the month of May across the Philippines.
Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a state where less than 5% of the population is Catholic, has exploded in size due to an influx of diverse parishioners, including many Asian families who share the liveliness of their cultural traditions and cuisine with everyone in the parish, no matter ethnicity.
Photo credit: Brad Vest
Photo credit: Brad Vest
It has been equally powerful to witness the growth of the Burmese Catholic community in western Kentucky, consisting of resettled refugees of many tribes and dialects from Myanmar. They belong to a thriving parish—Holy Spirit in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and are served by Burmese priests, such as Fr. Martin Ma Na Ling, whose seminarian education was supported by Catholic Extension Society.
While Asian Catholics help fill the pews in these lesser-known places, their populations are booming in other areas.
That includes the vibrant Vietnamese communities along the Gulf Coast in dioceses like Biloxi, Mississippi; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida. The churches and ministries in these dioceses have been supported by Catholic Extension Society over the years. This has been especially prevalent following natural disasters, such as when Hurricane Michael severely damaged Saints Peter and Paul Church in Panama City, Florida, in 2018.
For decades, Catholic Extension Society has also supported U.S. Catholics with ancestry from Southern Asia. This includes members of the Syro-Malabar Rite, who are descendants of followers of the Apostle Thomas! We have helped build new churches to accommodate the growing Indian community in this country and have funded their newest generation of priests, including Sam Kuttappassery, studying at Mundelein Seminary.
Young Asian Americans
The strong presence of young people within this community is so refreshing in our work with Asian American Catholics. In 2023, Catholic Extension Society was honored to highlight the ministry of Stella Choi as our Lumen Christi Award Nominee from the Diocese of Sacramento, California. As a young adult Korean American Catholic, Choi was recognized for her ministry with other Korean youth at her parish.
Since 1985, Catholic Extension Society has also supported ministry to the young Hmong population. The Hmong are a distinct ethnic group that fled Asia and resettled in the U.S. after the communist takeover of Laos following the Vietnam War.
Each year Hmong youth from more than a dozen dioceses come together to celebrate their culture and faith at the Hmong American National Catholic Association Convention.
An Extension to the Pacific
Catholic Extension Society also has a long history with Catholic Pacific Island communities, going back more than 80 years. We also continue to support Polynesian communities in the territory of American Samoa.
Our support extends to U.S. territories and protectorates in the Micronesian region of the Pacific, such as Guam, the Caroline Islands, and Marshall Islands, and the Mariana Islands, pictured below.
Catholic Pacific islanders represent different ethnicities and rich faith experiences.
In recent years, Catholic Extension Society has helped these dynamic faith communities by supporting religious education, rebuilding churches after typhoons, supporting family ministries, and funding the education of seminarians.
Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of the Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam, who previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, said,
I look at my role and the role of Catholic Extension Society as one that truly reaches out and attends to the needs of people. I am really grateful and thankful for all the help that Catholic Extension Society has been doing for us. Its truly a collaboration.”
Leaders in the Church
Finally, let’s not forget how the U.S. Church has benefited over the years from Asian-born clergy and religious, often from India, Vietnam and the Philippines, who have been sent to places that have many challenges and lack resources. They include people like Father Felix Nayak, a native of Odisha, India, now a U.S. citizen and based in Malta, Montana, where he travels 100 miles each weekend, rain or shine, to celebrate Mass in rural mission parishes.
Additionally, Indian-born Sister Fatima Santiago, ICM, has served in the poorest communities of South Texas for decades to provide economic and spiritual empowerment to women, with Catholic Extension Society’s support.
In conjunction with the growing Asian American Catholic population in the U.S., we are now seeing more Asian bishops. Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the first Filipino bishop in the U.S. Currently in Salt Lake City, he embodies the perfect trifecta of humble, humorous and holy.
In 2023, a second Filipino bishop, Anthony Celino, auxiliary of El Paso, Texas, was ordained. Catholic Extension Society proudly supported his seminarian education.
Supporting the ministry of these good bishops has been a pure joy for Catholic Extension Society. Both of these affable Asian bishops serve their people with closeness, compassion and genuine care. And throughout the United States, the Church is stronger thanks to the countless contributions and faithfulness of our Asian Catholic brothers and sisters.
