About Good Shepherd · Indianapolis, Indiana
Good Shepherd Parish is a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis located at 2905 S. Carson Avenue on the south side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded on May 2, 1993, it is the consolidated successor community of two historic southside parishes — St. Catherine of Siena (1909) and St. James the Greater (1951) — that had already been sharing priests and the Central Catholic School complex for years. The parish is served by Pastor Rev. Robert J. Robeson and Parochial Vicar Rev. Isaac Siefker, with about 130 registered families and a worship space seating 400. It shares the Good Shepherd campus with Central Catholic School, the K-8 regional Catholic school that serves multiple southside parishes.
- Established
- 1993
- Patron
- The Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd)
- Rector
- Rev. Jack Wright
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Why belong here
Good Shepherd is a small, tight-knit Catholic community of about 130 families on the south side of Indianapolis, where a visitor is welcomed by name. Parishioners share the Good Shepherd campus with Central Catholic School — the regional K-8 'star of the southside' that Good Shepherd helps support — and ministries like the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Lectors, and Ministers of Hospitality make it easy to plug in. With weekday and weekend Masses, Saturday confessions, a Catholic school, and a young parochial vicar joining a veteran pastor, it offers both the simplicity of a neighborhood parish and the chance to be a real part of its ongoing story as a 1993 consolidation of two older southside parishes.
Mass times at Good Shepherd
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:45 PM – 4:15 PM
Parish History
Good Shepherd was erected on May 2, 1993, by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, as a consolidation of St. Catherine of Siena and St. James the Greater, two southside Indianapolis parishes whose roots go back to 1909 and 1951 respectively. A new church was dedicated in November 1996 and the old St. James building was converted into a gym for Central Catholic School; the St. Catherine building was formally decommissioned in 1997 and later demolished.
- St. Catherine of Siena founded 1909 by Bishop Francis Silas Chatard; first pastor Rev. Cornelius Otto Bosler; church dedicated 1910
- St. James the Greater founded 1951 by Archbishop Paul C. Schulte; first pastor Rev. Cornelius B. Sweeney; Rev. John R. Betz succeeded him in 1952 and dedicated the church that May
- 1974: schools of St. Catherine, St. James, St. Patrick, Sacred Heart, and Holy Rosary consolidated into Central Catholic School at St. Catherine
- 1991: Archbishop Edward T. O'Meara commissions a study of Marion County parish sustainability; he dies in January 1992
- September 1992: Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, appointed to Indianapolis
- May 2, 1993: Good Shepherd Parish formally established; Rev. Thomas E. Clegg named first pastor
- November 1996: new Good Shepherd church dedicated
- 1997: St. Catherine church decreed to 'profane but not sordid use' and later demolished; sacramental records of both predecessor parishes kept at Good Shepherd
Clergy & Staff
Robeson and Parochial Vicar Rev. Isaac Siefker. Bryan Wulf serves as Business Manager and Faith Formation/Evangelization Chairperson, and Susie Graves is Music Director. The parish council is chaired by Jeanne Gabonay, with Charlie Hall leading the Finance Council and Mindy Boone co-chairing Christian Service alongside Mrs. Gabonay.
- Pastor: Rev. Robert J. Robeson — office 317-783-3158; emergency line routed to Holy Name Parish 317-784-5454
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Isaac Siefker (ordained June 7, 2025; began serving Good Shepherd and Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, on July 2, 2025)
- Business Manager & Faith Formation/Evangelization Chairperson: Bryan Wulf
- Music Director / Liturgy Chairperson: Susie Graves
- Pastoral Council Chairperson: Jeanne Gabonay
- Finance Chairperson: Charlie Hall
- Christian Service Co-Chairpersons: Jeanne Gabonay & Mindy Boone
- Several leadership positions (Parish Life Co-Chairpersons, Stewardship, Youth Ministry) are listed as Open on the parish website
Liturgical Ministries
Lay faithful are invited to serve the parish's worship life as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Lectors, and Ministers of Hospitality. Extraordinary Ministers are commissioned through the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and may also be called to bring Communion to parishioners who are homebound or in nursing homes. The Music Director, Susie Graves, coordinates parish music, and parish-affiliated musicians are also listed for weddings.
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion — commissioned by the Archbishop; serve at Mass and visit the homebound/nursing homebound
- Lectors — proclaim the first and second readings and the intercessions at Mass
- Ministers of Hospitality — greet, take up the collection, and distribute bulletins, working in pairs
- Music Ministry — Music Director Susie Graves; wedding musicians listed include Susie Graves (organ/piano), Magdalene Arszman (guitar/vocalist), and Alan Jordan (organ/piano)
Faith Formation & Central Catholic School
Faith Formation at Good Shepherd is coordinated by Bryan Wulf, who also serves as the parish's Faith Formation / Evangelization Chairperson. The parish's most visible partnership in education is with Central Catholic School, a fully accredited K-8 regional Catholic school that operates on the Good Shepherd campus and is described on the parish website as the 'star of the southside.' The school is a cooperative effort of Good Shepherd, Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart, and St. Patrick parishes.
- Faith Formation / Evangelization chaired by Bryan Wulf
- Central Catholic School: fully accredited, year-round, K-8
- School serves Good Shepherd, Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart, and St. Patrick parishes
- School phone: 317-783-7759
- Classroom and administrative volunteers are welcomed
Outreach: St. Vincent de Paul Society
Good Shepherd hosts a local conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Catholic lay charitable organization that assists neighbors in need. Two dedicated phone lines — one for donations and one for those seeking help — make it easy for parishioners and southside residents to engage with the ministry.
- St. Vincent de Paul Society — Donation Line: 317-687-1006
- St. Vincent de Paul Society — Help Line: 317-687-0169
- Christian Service Committee (chaired by Jeanne Gabonay & Mindy Boone) coordinates the parish's outreach
Marriage Preparation
Good Shepherd treats marriage preparation as a serious, months-long pastoral process. Couples are asked to contact the parish at least six months before their anticipated wedding date so that the Church's requirements for a lifelong, sacramental covenant can be met.
- Couples must contact the parish at least six months before the anticipated wedding date
- Music must be arranged separately with parish-affiliated musicians
- If the wedding is a Mass, the organist or soloist must be Catholic
- Parish-affiliated musicians: Susie Graves (organ/piano), Magdalene Arszman (guitar/vocalist), Alan Jordan (organ/piano)
Parish Identity & Community Life
Good Shepherd describes itself in a welcoming, home-like voice: 'We welcome you to Good Shepherd Parish in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. If you are presently without a parish to call "home", we hope that you will consider making Good Shepherd your permanent Christian community.' With about 130 families and a 400-seat worship space, it is one of the smaller parishes in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, but its lineage stretches back more than a century through the two communities that merged to form it in 1993.
- Parish registers about 130 families
- Church capacity: 400
- Located on the south side of Indianapolis, Marion County, in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis (Parish #020)
- Successor community to St. Catherine of Siena (1909) and St. James the Greater (1951)
- Listed liturgical livestream/watch-online option on the parish homepage
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Thomas E. Clegg1993 (founding pastor)
Supervised the consolidation of St. Catherine of Siena and St. James the Greater into Good Shepherd Parish.
- Rev. Robert J. Robesoncurrent
Listed as Pastor on the parish's clergy & staff page and as 'Administrator' on the marriage-preparation page.