About Holy Name of Jesus · Bloomfield, Indiana
Holy Name of Jesus Parish (commonly called Holy Name Parish) is a small Catholic community serving Bloomfield, the county seat of Greene County in southwestern Indiana. It belongs to the North Deanery of the Diocese of Evansville and is paired with St. Peter Parish in neighboring Linton, sharing a single priest-administrator. The parish is most notable in diocesan history as the first in the Diocese of Evansville to be led by a pastoral life coordinator rather than a resident priest, a pioneering arrangement that began in 1983 and shaped how small rural parishes in the diocese have been served ever since.
- Established
- 1959
- Patron
- The Holy Name of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Simon Natha, HGN (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Evansville (North Deanery)
Why belong here
Holy Name of Jesus offers Catholics in Bloomfield and rural Greene County a faithful, welcoming community with weekly Sunday Mass, a Wednesday evening Mass, an active Religious Education program for children, youth ministry, and an RCIA process coordinated by the parish deacon. The parish shares its priest-administrator with neighboring St. Peter in Linton, which means a small, family-sized congregation where members know one another by name and where the deacon, CRE, organist and parish secretary form a close-knit pastoral team. For Catholics passing through southern Indiana or seeking a quiet, traditional small-town parish home, Holy Name is a place to pray, to be known, and to serve.
Mass times at Holy Name of Jesus
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & History
Holy Name of Jesus Parish was formally established in 1959 to serve the Catholics of Bloomfield and the surrounding Greene County area of southwestern Indiana. The parish is situated in the North Deanery of the Diocese of Evansville. In 1983 Holy Name entered diocesan history as the first parish in the Diocese of Evansville to be led by a pastoral life coordinator — a non-ordained religious or lay person — rather than a resident priest. That pioneering arrangement, first exercised at Holy Name by Benedictine Sister Mary Terence Knapp, OSB, became a template for the diocese's response to the changing reality of priest and parishioner numbers in small rural communities.
- Established: 1959
- Diocese: Evansville (North Deanery)
- County: Greene County, Indiana
- 1983: first pastoral-life-coordinator parish in the Diocese of Evansville
- Pastoral life coordinator pioneer: Benedictine Sister Mary Terence Knapp, OSB
Parish Staff & Clergy
Per the Diocese of Evansville parish yearbook, Holy Name's current leadership is a small, multi-vocational team: a missionary priest-administrator, a permanent deacon, a coordinator of religious education, an organist, and a parish secretary. The same priest and deacon currently serve St. Peter Parish in Linton, the parish's Greene County sister community.
- Administrator: Rev. Simon Natha (Heralds of Good News)
- Deacon: Albert Frabutt
- Coordinator of Religious Education (CRE): Kari Hale
- RCIA Coordinator: Deacon Albert Frabutt
- Youth Ministry: Kari Hale
- Organist: Claudia Nunez
- Parish Secretary: Sherry Gilreath
Mass & Worship Schedule
Holy Name offers two Masses each week, both in English and on Eastern Time. Weekday Mass is celebrated on Wednesday evenings, and the Sunday Mass anchors the parish's weekly rhythm. As is common in small rural parishes, the priest-administrator travels between Holy Name in Bloomfield and St. Peter in Linton to celebrate the weekend and weekday liturgies at each church.
- Wednesday: 6:00 p.m. Mass
- Sunday: 9:00 a.m. Mass
- Language: English
- Time zone: Eastern (ET)
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Religious Education for parish children, along with youth ministry, is coordinated by Kari Hale, the parish's Coordinator of Religious Education. The program is run out of the parish office and serves the catechetical needs of Holy Name families as well as the shared cluster with St. Peter Parish in Linton.
- Coordinator of Religious Education: Kari Hale
- Youth Ministry leader: Kari Hale
- Contact: (812) 847-7821
RCIA — Becoming Catholic
Adults seeking to become Catholic or to complete their sacraments of initiation are welcomed through the parish's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program. The process is coordinated by Deacon Albert Frabutt, who walks inquirers through the catechumenate and the rites of initiation, typically culminating at the Easter Vigil.
- RCIA Coordinator: Deacon Albert Frabutt
Music & Liturgy
Liturgical music at Holy Name is supported by organist Claudia Nunez, who also serves the sister parish of St. Peter in Linton. In a small parish like Holy Name, the organist is a key liturgical minister who shapes the prayer of the assembly at both Sunday and weekday Masses.
- Organist: Claudia Nunez
Cluster Partnership with St. Peter, Linton
Holy Name Parish in Bloomfield shares a single priest-administrator, a deacon, and several lay staff members with St. Peter Parish in Linton (489 E Street N.E., Linton, IN 47441), the other Catholic parish in Greene County. This two-parish cluster has been a hallmark of ministry in the rural North Deanery of the Diocese of Evansville, allowing the priest to celebrate Mass at both churches each week while the deacon and parish staff maintain continuity in religious education, RCIA, youth ministry, music, and parish administration.
- St. Peter Parish, Linton — established 1901
- Shared priest-administrator: Rev. Simon Natha
- Shared deacon: Albert Frabutt
- Shared CRE and Youth Ministry: Kari Hale
- Shared organist: Claudia Nunez
- Shared secretary: Sherry Gilreath
Diocese & Deanery
Holy Name Parish is one of ten parishes in the North Deanery of the Diocese of Evansville, which is led by Dean Very Rev. Paul Ferguson. The diocese itself is led by Bishop Joseph M. Siegel. The North Deanery also includes Our Lady of Hope (Washington), St. Francis Xavier (Vincennes), St. Joan of Arc (Jasonville), St. John the Evangelist (Loogootee), St. Mary (Sullivan), St. Peter (Linton), St. Peter (Montgomery), and St. Philip Neri (Bicknell).
- Diocese of Evansville
- Bishop: Most Rev. Joseph M. Siegel
- North Deanery Dean: Very Rev. Paul Ferguson
Visiting & Contact
Holy Name Parish welcomes visitors and travelers to its worship and parish life. The parish office, located at the church, can be reached by phone during regular business hours. The parish shares a single phone line and office with St. Peter Parish in Linton.
- Address: 700 Lincoln Drive, Bloomfield, IN 47424
- Parish office / Religious Education: (812) 847-7821
- Diocese website: www.evdio.org
- Directions: from State Road 157, turn onto Laura Lane to Lincoln Drive; the church is on the left
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Joseph Erbacher
Listed as pastor of Holy Name in older joinmychurch.com directory data.
- Rev. Biju Thomasuntil 2020
Administrator of Holy Name, Bloomfield and St. Peter, Linton. A priest of the Archdiocese of Imphal, India.
- Rev. Simon Natha, HGN2020–present
Appointed administrator of Holy Name Parish, Bloomfield and St. Peter Parish, Linton, effective June 24, 2020. Missionary priest; member of the Heralds of Good News congregation.