About Holy Cross · Burkesville, Kentucky
Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic mission in Burkesville, the county seat of Cumberland County in south-central Kentucky, and one of the smallest Catholic communities in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Established in 1976 as a mission of Emmanuel Parish in neighboring Albany, it grew from a handful of Catholics meeting in a renovated basement on Veteran's Alley into a volunteer-built sanctuary completed in 1985. Today it serves about 39 registered households under Pastor Rev. Augustine Joseph, C.M.I., and is attended by clergy from Emmanuel. In a county where less than one percent of the population is Catholic, the parish is noted for both its high participation rate and its ecumenical outreach.
- Established
- 1976
- Patron
- Holy Cross
- Rector
- Rev. Augustine Joseph, C.M.I.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Louisville
Why belong here
Holy Cross offers something rare in rural southern Kentucky: a faithful, volunteer-built Catholic community in a county where Catholics are a small minority. Sunday Mass, weekday Masses, Sunday Eucharistic Adoration, and on-site Reconciliation are all available, and the parish is well known for ecumenical cooperation with other Cumberland County churches. Worship is attended from Emmanuel Parish in Albany, so you are cared for by both a local congregation and a larger pastoral family within the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Mass times at Holy Cross
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 10:00–10:25 a.m.
- Sunday — 1 hour before the 10:30 a.m. Mass
Adoration times
- Sunday 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
- Thursday 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Friday 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
About Holy Cross Parish
Holy Cross is a mission parish of the Archdiocese of Louisville, located at 254 Glasgow Road in Burkesville, the seat of Cumberland County. Roughly 39 households are registered, and the community numbers about 50 active parishioners — a small flock, but one with an unusually high rate of participation in parish life. The mission is pastorally cared for alongside Emmanuel Parish in Albany, with the same pastor (Rev. Augustine Joseph, C.M.I.) and the same shared office line and email.
- Status: Mission of Emmanuel Parish, Archdiocese of Louisville
- Location: 254 Glasgow Road, Burkesville, KY 42717-9696
- Mailing Address: c/o P.O. Box 160, Albany, KY 42602-0160
- Phone: (606) 688-1921
- Email: [email protected]
- Registered households: 39
- Active community: about 50 parishioners
Parish History
Holy Cross traces its roots to 1976, when a handful of Catholics worshiping in home gatherings were organized as 'Cumberland Catholic Church' and formally affiliated with Emmanuel Parish in Clinton County. The community first met in a house with a renovated basement on Veteran's Alley, then moved in the 1970s to a Saturday evening Mass celebrated by Father John Malloy and Father Joseph Burgdorf of St. Helen Parish, Glasgow, in the log cabin at Burkesville's City Park. By the mid-1980s the mission had outgrown both of those spaces, and in 1984 land donated by Joseph and Dorothy Schickel, with an additional strip donated by Dr. William McComas in memory of his wife Lillian, became the site of today's sanctuary. Father Gerald Bell led the volunteer effort, with parishioner Jim Lee directing construction, and Holy Cross Church was completed in 1985.
- 1976 — established as Cumberland Catholic Church, a mission of Emmanuel Parish
- Late 1970s — Saturday evening Mass in the log cabin at Burkesville's City Park (now Dr. Joseph Schickel Veteran's Memorial Park)
- 1984 — land donated by Joseph & Dorothy Schickel and by Dr. William McComas (in memory of Lillian)
- 1984–1985 — sanctuary volunteer-built under Father Gerald Bell, directed by Jim Lee
- 1985 — Holy Cross Church completed and dedicated
Clergy & Parish Staff
Holy Cross is led by Rev. Augustine Joseph, C.M.I. (a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales / C.M.I., commonly known as the Salesians of Don Bosco or — more precisely, in this case — of the CMI Fathers), who also pastors the parent Emmanuel Parish in Albany. Hispanic Ministry is served by Rev. Silvio J. Fonseca Martinez. Day-to-day parish operations, including bookkeeping and secretarial work, are handled by Angela Lozano, with an asterisk on the Archdiocese site indicating her role is shared with Emmanuel.
- Pastor: Rev. Augustine Joseph, C.M.I.
- Hispanic Ministry: Rev. Silvio J. Fonseca Martinez
- Bookkeeper and Secretary: Angela Lozano (shared with Emmanuel Parish)
Ministries & Outreach
Although Holy Cross is small, it punches above its weight in local outreach. The parish works cooperatively with other Christian communities in Cumberland County and has long been in the vanguard of ecumenical and civic activities in the area. Hispanic Ministry is supported through the mission, and the parish shares administrative support with Emmanuel Parish in Albany.
- Hispanic Ministry — Rev. Silvio J. Fonseca Martinez
- Ecumenical cooperation with other Cumberland County Christian communities
- Volunteer stewardship — parishioners originally built and continue to maintain the sanctuary
- Pastoral care shared with Emmanuel Parish, Albany
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Joseph Dawson1976 (founding)
Emmanuel's first resident priest; purchased the house on Veteran's Alley where the Cumberland Catholic community first worshipped.
- Father John Malloy1970s
Came up from St. Helen Parish, Glasgow, and celebrated Saturday evening Mass in the log cabin at Burkesville's City Park.
- Father Joseph Burgdorf1970s
Associate of Father Malloy from St. Helen Parish, Glasgow.
- Father Gerald Bell1984–1985
Led the construction of Holy Cross sanctuary with the volunteer labor of parishioners; church completed 1985.