About Notre Dame · Greeneville, Tennessee
Notre Dame Catholic Church is a welcoming Roman Catholic parish in Greeneville, Tennessee, belonging to the Diocese of Knoxville. The parish traces its origins to 1870, when Irish railroad workers founded St. Patrick Church in Greeneville, and was re-established under its current name when a new cruciform church was dedicated on April 25–26, 1955. Today it serves a bilingual community with Masses in English and Spanish, runs a religious education and youth ministry program, and is supported by a long list of lay guilds and the Knights of Columbus. Its current pastor, Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS, has served the parish since July 2019.
- Established
- 1955
- Patron
- Our Lady (Notre Dame)
- Rector
- Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS
- Diocese
- Diocese of Knoxville
Why belong here
Notre Dame is a small but lively bilingual parish with a long memory — parishioners still remember when Father Albert Siener, a magician and golfer, lived in a tiny apartment at the Round Table Restaurant Hotel in 1950 because there was no rectory. Today the parish combines a daily English Mass schedule with a thriving 3 p.m. Spanish Mass on Sundays, an active religious education and youth ministry led by Susan Collins, a strong Hispanic ministry with Father Andres Cano and Sister Maria Esther Ordoñez Cuevas, the Knights of Columbus Council 6784 (chartered 1976), the Council of Catholic Women (rooted in the old Altar and Rosary Society), many lay guilds, a Saturday Vigil and daily Masses, and a new adoration chapel added in 2023. Founding parishioner Judy Miniat Collins calls it 'the most caring, faithful, giving community I've witnessed' — a community where, when her son became bedridden, the parish came to their home and fed them for a month.
Mass times at Notre Dame
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Thursday 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Spanish Holy Hour)
- First Friday 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Parish Story & History
Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville is the direct heir of St. Patrick Church, founded on October 16, 1870, when Irish Catholic railroad workers and their families gathered in a small 28-by-40-foot building on College Street. Mission priests from Knoxville — most notably circuit-riding Father Emmanuel F. Callahan (1899–1916) — and later the Dominican Fathers of St. Mary in Johnson City shepherded the small, scattered flock for decades. After the railroads were completed many Irish families moved away, and by 1927 only a single family of ten, a widow, and one other couple remained. The unheated original building was eventually declared beyond repair, and Bishop William L. Adrian of Nashville accepted $7,000 from the Intermountain Telephone Co. for the structure and its half-acre lot; St. Patrick was demolished in 1950. Father Albert Siener, who arrived that same year, shepherded the transition — celebrating Mass in the balcony of Capitol Theater through the winter months until a new home could be built.
- St. Patrick Church dedicated Oct. 16, 1870
- Winter Masses held in the balcony of Capitol Theater
- St. Patrick demolished 1950
- Father Albert Siener arrived 1950
The Founding of Notre Dame (1955)
In the late 1940s, Magnavox's Frank Freimann — a Catholic — would not transfer Hoosier workers to his new Greeneville Cabinet Co. until a Catholic church existed locally. Magnavox contributed funds, and in March 1954 the parish purchased a 6.72-acre tract on the old Davenport farm for $11,760. Bishop Adrian named the new parish Notre Dame (the St. Patrick name having gone to a forming parish in Morristown). At a 5 p.m. Mass on Monday, April 25, 1955, with eight priests concelebrating, the new cruciform, modified colonial-style church was dedicated. It featured a 60-foot bell tower, a black Italian marble altar, two alcoves, and a black marble crucifix (now in the narthex) — gifts of Freimann, who later left the parish an additional $20,000 upon his death in 1968.
- Land purchased March 1954 — old Davenport farm, 6.72 acres, $11,760
- Dedicated April 25, 1955 at 5 p.m. Mass
- Bishop William L. Adrian presiding with eight priests
- 60-foot bell tower; black Italian marble altar by Frank Freimann
Building the Campus Over Seven Decades
From a single cruciform church in 1955, Notre Dame has steadily grown a full campus: rectory (1965), bell installed in the tower (1974), parish hall (1976), church pavilion (1986), the Ganz House purchased for youth activities (1988), an education wing completed in 2010 under Father John Appiah, and an adoration chapel added in 2023. Each expansion has tracked the parish's growth — from a handful of families in the 1950s to more than 112 children enrolled in religious education at one point.
- Rectory — 1965
- Bell installed in tower — 1974
- Parish hall — 1976
- Pavilion — 1986
- Ganz House (youth) — 1988
- Education wing — 2010 (under Fr. John Appiah)
- Adoration chapel — 2023
70th Anniversary Celebration (2025)
On Sunday, April 27, 2025 — two days after the 70th anniversary of its dedication and two days after the feast of Our Lady — Bishop James Beckman celebrated a special Mass at Notre Dame. He blessed a wooden scale-model of the church, carved from a tree that had to be taken down on parish property, by Charlie Cronin, Jim Williams, and John Seehoffer. Founding parishioner Judy Miniat Collins, the last surviving member from the 1955 founding, reflected at the Mass on the parish that had been a 'caring, faithful, giving community' for her entire life.
- 70th anniversary Mass — April 27, 2025
- Bishop James Beckman presiding
- Wooden scale-model of the church blessed
- Founding parishioner Judy Miniat Collins honored
Current Pastor — Father Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS
Father Joseph Kuzhupil is a religious priest of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS), who did all of his schooling, college, and seminary formation in his native India before being sent by his order to the United States. He first served for five years as chaplain at Alexian Village, a home for the elderly on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and then as pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church, also on Signal Mountain, for nine years. He became pastor of Notre Dame in Greeneville in July 2019. Ordained in 1985, he marked 40 years of priesthood in 2025.
- Member: Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS)
- Prior assignment: chaplain, Alexian Village, Signal Mountain, TN (5 years)
- Prior assignment: pastor, St. Augustine, Signal Mountain, TN (9 years)
- Pastor of Notre Dame since July 2019
Faith Formation & Youth Ministry
Religious education at Notre Dame is directed by Susan Collins, who grew up in the parish (she arrived in third grade, was confirmed there, and has now served in religious education and youth ministry for more than two decades). The Elementary RE program meets Sundays from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. The Confirmation class holds an annual retreat and, in 2024, hosted a Living Stations of the Cross during Lent, with students portraying each of the 14 stations in costume as the Way of the Cross was narrated between darkened and lit moments of prayer. The sacrament of confirmation is typically celebrated at the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Pentecost Sunday.
- Elementary RE — Sundays 9:30–10:45 AM
- Confirmation annual retreat and Living Stations of the Cross
- Confirmation typically at Pentecost
- Youth activities housed in the Ganz House
Hispanic Ministry
Hispanic ministry at Notre Dame began in earnest with the arrival of Father Joseph Hammond, CHS, as associate pastor in 1998, and continues today with Father Andres Cano and Sister Maria Esther Ordoñez Cuevas, MAG. A Spanish Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 3:00 p.m., a Spanish Holy Hour is held every Thursday evening, and the Hispanic community provides meals at parish events alongside the Knights of Columbus and the Council of Catholic Women.
- Spanish Mass — Sunday 3:00 PM
- Spanish Holy Hour — Thursday 7:00–8:00 PM
- Father Andres Cano and Sister Maria Esther Ordoñez Cuevas, MAG
Parish Organizations & Outreach
Notre Dame is supported by a deep bench of lay organizations. The Council of Catholic Women traces its roots to the Altar and Rosary Society of old St. Patrick Parish. The Knights of Columbus Council 6784 was chartered in 1976 and continues to sponsor parish events including blood drives at the Social Center. Numerous parish guilds, a stewardship program, and a music ministry (cantors have included Ember Reid) round out parish life. The parish describes itself as 'a very friendly parish' on its website and welcomes new members to fill out a registration form.
- Council of Catholic Women (from St. Patrick Altar & Rosary Society)
- Knights of Columbus Council 6784 (chartered 1976)
- Music Ministry
- Stewardship program
- Parish guilds and Social Center events
Location & Visiting
Notre Dame Catholic Church sits at 212 Mount Bethel Road in Greeneville, Tennessee, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. Visitors traveling from Tusculum Boulevard turn south onto Mt. Bethel Road; the church driveway is on the right about half a block up, marked by a large sign. The parish office is in the brick-and-white house on the corner of Barton Ridge Road and Mt. Bethel Road, on the same property, and visitors are welcome to stop by — or to introduce themselves to Father Joseph after Mass. The office phone is (423) 639-9381.
- 212 Mount Bethel Road, Greeneville, TN 37745
- Office phone: (423) 639-9381
- Website: notredametn.org
- Diocese of Knoxville
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Francis Marron1870
St. Patrick's founding priest
- Rev. Emmanuel F. CallahanEarly 20th century (1899–1916)
Circuit-riding priest based at Immaculate Conception, Knoxville; oversaw St. Patrick among 34 mission counties
- Rev. S. R. Brockbank1920s
St. Patrick priest
- Fr. Albert Siener1950–1955 (1950–56 listed)
Shepherded the end of St. Patrick; founding pastor of Notre Dame
- Fr. Bernard Niedergeses1956
Pastor
- Fr. William F. Davis1966
Pastor
- Fr. Edward A. Walenga1968
Pastor
- Fr. John Patrick Connor1969
Pastor
- Fr. Alex Maxwell1970
Pastor
- Fr. J. A. Rudisill1971
- Fr. R. Fitzsimmons1971
Pastor
- Fr. William Casey1972–1976; again 1997
Pastor (served twice)
- Fr. Wiatt Funk1976–1984
Pastor
- Fr. Paul Valleroy1984
Pastor
- Fr. William L. McKenzie1985
Pastor
- Fr. Albert Seiner1987
Pastor (second stint)
- Fr. Mike Creson1987
Administrator
- Fr. Charles Burton1987–1992
Pastor
- Fr. Joseph Fiedorowicz1992
Associate Pastor
- Fr. John Milewski1995
Administrator
- Fr. Alex Waraksa1995
Pastor
- Fr. James P. Harvey, II1996 (Assoc.); 1999–2006; 2010–2014
Associate Pastor then Pastor twice (listed three times on the parish page)
- Fr. Joseph Hammond, CHS1998
Associate Pastor; began Hispanic ministry in earnest
- Fr. John Appiah2006–2010
Pastor; broke ground for the education wing completed in 2010
- Fr. William Keebler2010
Administrator
- Fr. Dan Whitman2014–2019
Pastor
- Fr. Joseph Kuzhupil, MSFS2019–present
Missionary of St. Francis de Sales; current pastor