About St. Denis · Fancy Farm, Kentucky
St. Denis Parish is a small Roman Catholic mission church located along Hwy 1748 in the rural Fancy Farm / Hickman County area of western Kentucky, part of the Diocese of Owensboro. Founded in 1913 and dedicated on October 7, 1914, it was established by the pioneer Catholic families who had worshiped at St. Jerome in Fancy Farm for the better part of a century. The current pastor is Fr. Sinoj Pynadath, HGN (Heralds of Good News), who also serves St. Charles Parish in Bardwell. The parish celebrates Sunday Mass at 8:00 AM and is a quietly thriving rural community famous locally for its annual Turkey Bingo fundraiser each November.
- Established
- 1913
- Patron
- St. Denis (Denis of Paris)
- Rector
- Fr. Sinoj Pynadath, HGN
- Diocese
- Diocese of Owensboro
Why belong here
St. Denis is exactly the kind of close-knit rural Catholic mission that has defined the Jackson Purchase for more than a century: small enough that the same parishioners who usher may also read and minister the Eucharist, but generous enough to put on the region's most beloved annual Turkey Bingo and chili supper each November. Visitors are warmly welcomed, and the parish is known for outstanding potluck dinners, faithful Sunday worship, and a deeply rooted sense of family among descendants of the original Catholic pioneers. If you are looking for a quiet, genuine country parish in the Diocese of Owensboro where everyone pitches in and the Gospel is at the center, St. Denis is well worth the drive down Hwy 1748.
Mass times at St. Denis
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Confession available upon request
Parish Identity and Location
St. Denis Parish is the Catholic mission church serving the Hickman County portion of the historic Fancy Farm Catholic settlement in western Kentucky. It sits on a five-acre parcel along Hwy 1748 (St. Denis Road), midway between the small communities of Dublin in Graves County and Beulah in Hickman County. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Owensboro and is currently twinned with St. Charles Parish in Bardwell under one pastor.
- Diocese: Owensboro
- Street address: 2758 Hwy 1748 West, Fancy Farm, KY 42039
- Mailing address: 6922 State Route 408, Bardwell, KY 42023
- Located in the Jackson Purchase region
History and Founding
The Catholic roots of this community reach back to the early 1830s, when descendants of the Maryland Catholic pioneers of St. Rose, Springfield (Washington County, KY) began taking up land in Graves, Carlisle, and Hickman Counties. The first Catholic known to settle in the St. Denis vicinity was James Cash in 1834. For nearly eighty years these families endured long, often muddy drives to attend Sunday Mass at St. Jerome in Fancy Farm. In early 1913, St. Jerome's pastor Rev. Charles A. Haesely asked Bishop Denis O'Donoghue of Louisville for help, and the bishop sent Rev. John A. Fowler to organize a new congregation and build a church. The plot was donated by L.W. Ellegood; parishioners supplied the labor and the timber. The cornerstone was laid May 18, 1914, and the church was completed that summer. It was formally dedicated on October 7, 1914, and placed under the patronage of St. Denis in honor of Bishop O'Donoghue.
- Founded 1913; church dedicated October 7, 1914
- Mission of St. Jerome Parish, Fancy Farm
- Five-acre site donated by L.W. Ellegood
- Contractors: John and Mack Vessells and Ed Brumlow of Fancy Farm
- Named in honor of Bishop Denis O'Donoghue of Louisville
Pioneer Catholic Families
Most present-day parishioners of St. Denis — like their neighbors at St. Jerome — are lineal descendants of the Maryland Catholic settlers who came by wagon train across the mountains of Pennsylvania and down the Ohio River on rafts to found Kentucky's earliest Catholic settlements. Among the founding families of the Hickman County mission: Cash, Hayden, Toon, Burgess, Ellegood, Courtney, Conrey, Thomas, and Dalton. Elders recalled at the 1914 dedication included Joe Pete, Tom and Ed Burgess, Gentry Courtney, Oscar M. Dalton, the Hayden brothers (Marcellus, George, Jack, Gus, Damien, Joe and Jesse), Elisha Toon and his sons Fred, Harrison, and Ezra, Mrs. Emma Ellegood and her sons Ike, Lawrence, Rafe, and Leeland, Alec Sanders, Gregg and Pete Hayden, George Elder Hayden, Bill Pete Hayden, Jim Conrey, Pete Toon, George and Fred Thomas, and Mrs. Wyley Higgins.
Parish School
St. Denis School was begun in 1920 by the pastor Rev. Albert J. Thompson and completed under his successor Rev. Mark Parette. The Ursuline Sisters arrived to teach in the fall of 1921. The school served the Catholic children of the surrounding rural community for many decades; Fr. Benedict Huff is also remembered for later wiring the school and installing its water system.
- School construction began 1920
- Opened under the Ursuline Sisters, fall 1921
100th Anniversary and Historic Marker
On October 26, 2014, Bishop William F. Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro blessed a historic marker at St. Denis Parish commemorating the church's 100th anniversary. Some 200 people attended the outdoor ceremony, which served as both a centennial homecoming and a public affirmation of the parish's continued vitality.
Current Pastor
St. Denis is served by Fr. Sinoj Pynadath of the Heralds of Good News (HGN), a Catholic priest from Kerala, India. Born June 30, 1983, he made his First Profession on July 10, 2004, was ordained a deacon on January 6, 2007, and ordained a priest on January 6, 2008. He was appointed pastor of St. Denis Parish in Fancy Farm and St. Charles Parish in Bardwell effective June 10, 2025. Fr. Sinoj also serves as Legal Representative for HGN's St. Paul Province mission in the Owensboro area.
- Fr. Sinoj Pynadath, HGN — Pastor
- Member: Heralds of Good News (St. Paul Province)
- Assigned to St. Denis Fancy Farm and St. Charles Bardwell, effective June 10, 2025
Faith Formation and Sacraments
Like every parish in the Diocese of Owensboro, St. Denis prepares adults seeking full reception into the Catholic Church through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA / RCIA). Members can inquire through the pastor. Information about preparation for Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, and Marriage is available by contacting the parish office.
- OCIA / RCIA (Becoming Catholic)
- Baptism preparation
- Marriage preparation
Parish Life: Turkey Bingo and Community
St. Denis is a missionary parish and has been since its founding — by design, smaller than its mother parish of St. Jerome, but with parishioners who pitch in for everything. The same people who usher may also read and distribute Holy Communion. By long tradition, the parish's signature community event is its annual Turkey Bingo, usually held in early November: 25 games of bingo with a whole turkey as the prize, preceded by an all-you-can-eat chili supper ($2), with drinks, sweets, and popcorn also available. Players use the same old-fashioned sliding-card sets familiar from Fancy Farm Picnic Bingo. It is a hallmark of parish fellowship and one of the most cherished fundraisers in the area.
- Annual Turkey Bingo fundraiser (early November)
- Chili supper, drinks, and sweets
- Famous for warm, multigenerational parish hospitality
Contact and Visiting
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at the address and phone below. The mailing address for parish business is in Bardwell, while the church itself sits on Hwy 1748 in the Fancy Farm area. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:00 AM.
- Phone: (270) 642-2586
- Email: [email protected]
- Street: 2758 Hwy 1748 West, Fancy Farm, KY 42039
- Mailing: 6922 State Route 408, Bardwell, KY 42023
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. John A. Fowler1913–1915
Founding pastor; sent by Bishop Denis O'Donoghue to organize the new Hickman County congregation and oversee construction of the church.
- Rev. Albert J. Thompson1915–1917; 1919–1920
Succeeded Fr. Fowler; left Aug 1917 as WWI military chaplain; returned July 1919; began building St. Denis School in 1920 before being moved to St. Jerome as pastor.
- Rev. Charles A. Haesely1917–1919 (interim)
Elderly pastor of St. Jerome who again cared for St. Denis during WWI and through the 1918 flu epidemic, which he ultimately contracted.
- Rev. Mark Parette1920–1926
Completed St. Denis School; built the small rectory and took up part-time residence at the parish. Ursuline Sisters arrived 1921.
- Rev. Harold Luckett1929–1932
Appointed March 1929.
- Rev. William Jarboe1932–c.1933
Revived church music and practiced extensively with the choir.
- Rev. James Millsc.1933–c.1936
Succeeded Fr. Jarboe.
- Rev. Robert Wilson1937–1939
Arrived during the great flood of 1937.
- Rev. Benedict Huff1939–1948; 1951–
Wired the church and school, installed a water system; oversaw the sale of the rectory. Returned after the Benedictines departed in 1951.
- Rev. Alexander Korte, OSB (and Rev. Harvey Shepherd, OSB)1948–1951
Benedictine Fathers who attempted to establish a new religious community at St. Denis before relocating near Bowling Green.