Catholic Church in North Korea

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Catholic Church in North Korea
Korean: 조선의 가톨릭 교회
Changchung Cathedral
Type	National polity
Classification	Catholic
Orientation	Asian Christianity, Latin
Scripture	Bible
Theology	Catholic theology
Governance	Korean Catholic Association (de facto) Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (de jure)
Pope	Francis
President	Samuel Chang Jae-on (de facto) Matthias Ri Iong-hoon (de jure)
Apostolic Nuncio	Alfred Xuereb
Region	North Korea
Language	Ecclesiastical Latin, Korean
Headquarters	Pyongyang
Origin	27 December 1593
Other name(s)	天主教 ("Religion of the Lord of Heaven")
Official website	english.cbck.or.kr

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The Catholic Church in North Korea retains a community of several hundred adherents who practice under the supervision of the state-established Korean Catholic Association (KCA) rather than the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The dioceses of the Church have remained vacant since Christian persecutions in the late 1940s.^[1][2] The most prominent congregation is that of Pyongyang, which meets at Changchung Cathedral. According to a KCA official, two other congregations exist. The state ideology of Juche has largely displaced Catholic faith, and full services are provided only to people with a Catholic family background.^[3]