About Holy Trinity · Harlan, Kentucky
Holy Trinity Catholic Church is a small Roman Rite parish in Harlan, Kentucky, serving the people of Harlan County in the heart of Appalachian coal country. Founded in 1948 and built with the support of the Catholic Church Extension Society, it sits modestly on a hillside along U.S. Highway 421. The parish is part of a tri-parish cluster with St. Stephen in Cumberland and the Church of the Resurrection in Lynch, all led since 2019 by Fr. Terrence de Silva, the first resident priest in Harlan in more than 32 years. With only about 45 registered households, Holy Trinity is best known for its food pantry, preschool, and tutoring programs that serve many non-Catholic neighbors throughout the county.
- Established
- 1948
- Patron
- The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
- Rector
- Rev. Terrence de Silva
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lexington (originally founded under the Diocese of Covington; reassigned to Lexington when that diocese was created from Covington in 1988). Holy Trinity belongs to the Mountain East Deanery.
Why belong here
Holy Trinity is one of the smallest parishes in the Diocese of Lexington — about 45 households — but it punches far above its weight in service. Under Fr. Terrence de Silva, the parish shares a food pantry that distributes to roughly 50 local families, a preschool, and an after-school tutoring program staffed by certified teachers that many public-school educators say produces the best-prepared kindergartners in the county. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 9:45 AM with Reconciliation beforehand, and weekday Mass on Wednesday evening makes the sacraments accessible to working families. Anyone visiting will find a small, determined faith community that has quietly stitched itself into Harlan County life for more than 75 years.
Mass times at Holy Trinity
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 9:15 AM (before Mass)
- Wednesday 6:30 PM (after Mass)
History of Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Holy Trinity was founded in 1948 as part of a deliberate wave of mountain missions launched by Bishop William T. Mulloy of the Diocese of Covington, with funding from the Catholic Church Extension Society, which confirms that it helped build the church in 1949. The new parish gave Harlan County Catholics — many of them descendants of Hungarian, Italian, and Slavic immigrant miners — a permanent home after decades of being served only by small frame missions, most famously St. Mary Mission in Benham (1913–c.1935). Early members organized around traditional Catholic lay societies such as the Holy Name Society, and the Sisters of Notre Dame staffed the parish school for many years. Today the parish is part of the Diocese of Lexington (created from Covington in 1988) and sits in the Mountain East Deanery.
- 1948 — parish founded in Harlan County under the Diocese of Covington
- 1949 — Catholic Church Extension Society helps build the church
- Long-serving Sisters of Notre Dame taught at the parish school and quietly ran a social-service ministry
- Charter member Quinton P. Noe remembered as a Holy Name Society stalwart (obituary, 2007)
- 2019 — first resident priest in more than 32 years arrives (Fr. Terrence de Silva)
Parish Staff and Clergy
Holy Trinity is pastored as part of a three-church cluster by Fr. Terrence de Silva, who arrived in 2019. Parish operations are supported by a Parish Life Director and a Learning Center Coordinator who keep the small parish running day to day.
- Rev. Terrence de Silva — Pastor (since 2019)
- Marjorie Grieshop — Parish Life Director, (606) 573-6311
- Trenna Cornett — The Learning Center Coordinator, (606) 573-3570
- Rev. Mani George, MC — listed in older diocesan directories as parish priest
Parish School and The Learning Center
Holy Trinity School grew up beside the church and historically served children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, with about six classroom teachers and a very low student-teacher ratio. Although the school's enrollment has risen and fallen with Harlan County's population, the school buildings remain in continuous use as a preschool and after-school tutoring center. The Learning Center is coordinated by Trenna Cornett and staffed by certified teachers, and local public schools report that its preschoolers arrive better prepared for kindergarten than any other group in the county.
- Holy Trinity School — historic PK–8 campus at 2536 S. US-421
- The Learning Center — preschool and after-school tutoring
- All instructors are certified teachers
- Some children return year after year, and mentoring relationships continue beyond the program
Outreach and Social Ministry
Outreach is the heart of Holy Trinity's identity. The parish distributes food from Holy Trinity to about 50 local families, while the larger tri-parish food pantry run jointly with St. Stephen in Cumberland distributes roughly 600 boxes of food a month — described by many recipients as the difference between eating and going hungry. Fr. de Silva has put it plainly: "We have to feed them first." In 2019, Father Jim Sichko (a Diocese of Lexington priest and Pope Francis 'missionary of mercy') met with nearly 200 Blackjewel miners at Holy Trinity and personally wrote out more than $20,000 in checks for utilities and basic needs.
- Food pantry at Holy Trinity (~50 families)
- Tri-parish food pantry network with St. Stephen (600 boxes/month)
- Emergency assistance with utilities, clothing, and bills
- Hosting visiting mission groups (e.g., Catholic Mission Trips, Inc.) for housing repairs and outreach
Tri-Parish Cluster: Harlan County Catholic Community
Since 2019, Holy Trinity has been served together with two neighboring Harlan County mission churches under Fr. Terrence de Silva:
- St. Stephen — Cumberland, Kentucky
- Church of the Resurrection — Lynch, Kentucky
- All three churches cooperate on the food pantry, outreach, and shared sacramental schedule
Visit, Contact, and Directions
Holy Trinity sits on the edge of downtown Harlan along U.S. Highway 421. Visitors are warmly welcomed, and the parish grounds include a handicap access ramp. The parish office can be reached by phone or email for baptism, marriage, anointing, funeral, or general inquiries.
- Address — 2536 South U.S. Highway 421, Harlan, KY 40831-1798
- Phone — (606) 573-6311
- Email — [email protected]
- Diocesan website — http://harlan.cdlex.org
- Facebook — facebook.com/Holy-Trinity-Catholic-Church-194821767252082
Diocese of Lexington and Mountain East Deanery
Holy Trinity belongs to the Mountain East Deanery of the Diocese of Lexington. The diocese was created in 1988 when the Diocese of Covington was split, and most of eastern Kentucky — including Harlan County — was placed under the new see. Holy Trinity is one of three Harlan County parishes in the deanery, alongside St. Stephen (Cumberland) and the Church of the Resurrection (Lynch).
- Diocese of Lexington (since 1988)
- Originally established under the Diocese of Covington (1948)
- Mountain East Deanery — Harlan County grouping
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Terrence de Silva2019–present
First resident priest at Holy Trinity in more than 32 years; pastor of the tri-parish Harlan County cluster (Holy Trinity, St. Stephen Cumberland, Resurrection Lynch).
- Rev. Mani George, MC (Fr. T. M. George)Prior to 2019
Listed in older diocesan and aggregator directories as parish priest; served during the long stretch without a resident pastor.