Clergy

Pastor: Rev. Tung “Toan” M. Do
Permanent Deacon: J. Michael Jones

Pastoral Staff

Coordinator of Religious Education:  Regina Bennett
Coordinator of Youth Ministry: Jennifer Shelton
Director of Music: Derek Crafton
Bookkeeper: Judy Yates
Secretary: Karen Lindsey

Mass Schedule

Sundays — Sat evening: 4:30 p.m.; Sun: 10 a.m.
Holy Days — See bulletin
Daily — Tue-Fri: 11:00 a.m.

Reconciliation

After weekday Masses or by appointment

Eucharistic Adoration

Mondays — 6-8 p.m.

History

As early as the turn of 1800, the priests who were serving the Catholics in the Holy Land of Kentucky were circuit riders and visited the scattered Catholic families in Meade County about once a year. In 1824, and about once a month, Father Elisha J. Durbin began to attend to the sacramental needs of the congregation of Saint Therese near Rhodelia. Sometime later, Father John Thomas O’Connor became the first resident pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen of Pazzi in Payneville and was also entrusted with the pastoral care of the Catholics in Brandenburg. Father O’Connor and local churchgoers erected a church on West Hill Street in Brandenburg and placed its members under the patronage of Saint George.

The Record of the Diocese of Louisville, dated November 19, 1892, stated, “On Tuesday, November 15 Saint George Catholic Church was dedicated to the service of God.” Likewise, The Meade County Messenger, dated September 23, 1903, reported, “Father Zoeller held Mass Sunday morning for a large congregation.”

The early Saint George records note that the first marriage celebrated in the parish was for Romanus Burch and Lela Craycroft on September 7, 1899, and the first baptism was that of Eleanor Hardesty Brown on September 17, 1899.  The first burial was that of Agnus Malin (d. † March 10, 1901) on March 11, 1901.

Saint George Cemetery was established in 1902 on a piece of land donated to the church by the Sebastian family and located along Highway 448.

In 1919, lightning unfortunately struck the first church building of Saint George Parish and destroyed it. A new church building was quickly erected. Unfortunately, once again, this second church building was struck by lightning and demolished in 1920. Because of this double tragedy, the parishioners—except when the priests were able to celebrate the Eucharist in individual homes—found it necessary to attend Mass in neighboring parishes.

Then a period of the so-called Saint George Mission took place from 1920 to 1930. During this time, pastors of Saint Patrick Parish in Stithton, Mount Merino in Irvington, Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi in Payneville, and Saint Anthony Parish in Axtel alternated in ministering to the sacramental needs of the Catholic faithful in Brandenburg. Once again, this period of transition necessitated that Saint George’s parishioners celebrate Mass in neighboring churches. There were some exceptions when a priest was available to celebrate the Eucharist in individual homes.

The Saint George Mission was extended to 1931, thus lengthening the period during which Saint George’s parishioners were under the pastoral care of Saint Mary Magdalen of Pazzi parish.

In a date and year unknown to us, Mr. John Kelly of Philadelphia, the father of Princess Grace of Monaco, gifted a large monetary contribution to the Catholics in Brandenburg. This generous donation was further augmented by a gift from the Catholic Church Extension Society. These gifts provided for the construction of a church building on Old State Road. In deep gratitude, the church was named and placed under the patronage of Saint John the Apostle in honor of Mr. Kelly’s patron saint. Mass was celebrated in this new church on Sundays and Holy Days.

The number of Catholic families of Saint John the Apostle continued to grow together with the population of the residents of Brandenburg. This church building on Old State Road could no longer accommodate the ever-increasing number of Catholics who came to church for Sunday worship. The decision was therefore made to expand the space and seating capacity of the church. In 1948–1949, this church building was enlarged, and the seating capacity was doubled. However, the church was not yet a parish church, as there was no resident pastor.

The year 1950 was a turning point. There had been much anticipation of the expansion of the Catholic population in Brandenburg with the resulting growth of the parish. Responding to the requests from the parishioners of Saint John the Apostle Church, the Most Reverend John Alexander Floersh, Archbishop of Louisville, approved the purchase of 19.6 acres of land located on East Broadway of Hwy. 448. This piece of land is the site of the current parish.

The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity—also known as the Trinitarian Fathers—were sent to Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi in 1957. Around the same time, they were asked to assume responsibility for the pastoral needs of Saint John the Apostle Mission. Eventually, the Trinitarian Fathers began to serve full-time at Saint John the Apostle. On August 18, 1960, the Saint John the Apostle Mission was designated a parish church, and Father Lambert Stack, S.T., was appointed the first pastor. Four years later, in 1964, the rectory was built. An elementary school was opened in 1965 and was staffed by the Augustinian Sisters from Malta. The former rectory on Old State Road was used as both a convent for the Augustinian Sisters and the school building. The Trinitarian Fathers served Saint John the Apostle until 1982. At that time, a diocesan priest, Father William J. Martin, was named pastor. Saint John the Apostle School was closed in 2005, after five decades of religious Sisters, religious priests, and diocesan priests educating and catechizing numerous children, who have become the parents and grandparents of countless families in Brandenburg and beyond.

Even with the expansion into a double-seating capacity of the church building on Old State Road, it became apparent that additional Sunday Masses could not accommodate the ever-increasing number of parishioners. The early purchase of land on Hwy. 448 proved to be providential. In the late 1970s, a new church was planned, built, and completed. On Saturday, March 29, 1980, the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. The new church was blessed and dedicated by the Most Reverend Thomas J. McDonough, J.C.D., Archbishop of Louisville on September 4, 1980. A new convent for the Augustinian Sisters was built in 1982.

In 1998, Saint John the Apostle Parish undertook a new model of parish leadership with the appointment of Sr. Justina Heneghan, R.S.M., as Pastoral Administrator and Father Jude Weisenbeck as Sacramental Moderator. The parish center and the gym were added in to the school building in 2000. During this time, Father Philip Erickson was appointed as Sacramental Moderator. In the same year, the parish center and the gym were subsequently blessed and dedicated by Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, O.P., J.C.D.

Since the closing of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the Catholic Church in the U.S. has begun to welcome married men who receive theological training and are ordained to the office of the Permanent Deacon. Beginning in the late 1980s, Saint John the Apostle Parish has been served by a number of deacons and their wives.

Due to the deceasing number of diocesan priests, a new parish model was implemented in 2004. Father Paul Beach was appointed Pastor to two parishes—Saint John the Apostle in Brandenburg and Saint Martin of Tours in Flaherty. This model continued with the appointment of the next two pastors—Father Anthony Chandler (2008-2011) and Father Kevin Bryan (2011-2017). From 2017 to December 31, 2020, Father Bryan resided at Saint John the Apostle. During this time, the Narthex was added to the former main entrance to the church. From January 1 to May 14, 2021, Father Trumie (Pepper) C. Elliott was serving as Administrator Ad-tempore, at the end of which time Father Toan Do was appointed Pastor of Saint John the Apostle.