About St. Elizabeth · Curdsville, Kentucky
St. Elizabeth Parish is a small rural Roman Catholic parish in the unincorporated community of Curdsville in western Daviess County, Kentucky, just three miles from the Ursuline Sisters' Mount Saint Joseph motherhouse at Maple Mount. It is part of the Diocese of Owensboro and is closely linked with its sister parish of St. Alphonsus, sharing pastoral care with Precious Blood Church in nearby Owensboro. The parish gathers for Sunday Mass and a handful of weekday Masses throughout the year, and the building itself — opened in 1887 — has stood as the third church built in the tiny river town for more than 135 years.
- Established
- 1887
- Patron
- St. Elizabeth
- Rector
- Rev. John Okoro
- Diocese
- Diocese of Owensboro
Why belong here
St. Elizabeth offers something rare: a small, generational country parish where the same families have worshipped for more than a century, in a town of only a few hundred people. Sunday Mass at 9:30 AM is followed by the easy familiarity of a parish hall that still doubles as the former Ursuline school. For Catholics in western Daviess County — especially those connected to the Maple Mount Ursuline community — it is a quiet, Eucharistic-centered home with weekday Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the warmth of a tightly-knit rural congregation.
Mass times at St. Elizabeth
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Monday 7:30 AM (after the 7:30 AM Mass on the first Tuesday of the month, per third-party schedule; the parish has also historically offered Thursday evening Eucharistic Adoration 6:00–7:00 PM)
Parish Identity and Location
St. Elizabeth Parish serves the unincorporated community of Curdsville in western Daviess County, Kentucky, on the north side of the Green River. The parish is part of the Diocese of Owensboro and is administered in close cooperation with St. Alphonsus Parish and Precious Blood Catholic Church in nearby Owensboro, which maintains much of the parish's published information. The physical church sits at 6143 1st Street in Curdsville, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 9-A, Curdsville, KY 42334, and shares its grounds with the former parish school — now used as a parish hall.
- Address: 6143 1st Street, Curdsville, KY 42334
- Mailing: P.O. Box 9-A, Curdsville, KY 42334
- Phone: (270) 229-4134
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocese: Owensboro
History of St. Elizabeth Parish
Catholic life in the Curdsville area traces to the missionary work of Fr. Elisha Durbin, the Kentucky-born priest who built many of western Kentucky's early churches in the 1820s. St. Raphael's Catholic Church in the Curdsville precinct had already been established by 1832. St. Elizabeth itself was built in 1887, becoming the third house of worship in the small Green River town. The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph — whose motherhouse is just three miles away — opened a school at the parish in 1911 and continued teaching there until 1973, shaping more than six decades of parish life.
- 1887: St. Elizabeth Catholic Church is built in Curdsville.
- 1911: Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph open the parish school.
- 1954–55: A new school building replaces the original; it later becomes the parish hall.
- 1973: Ursuline Sisters conclude their teaching ministry at St. Elizabeth.
- June 2024: The parish honors its Ursuline Sisters and priests with memorial plaques.
The Ursuline Connection
Because the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph motherhouse at Maple Mount is only about three miles from Curdsville, the parish and the religious community have been intertwined for more than a century. The Ursulines ran the parish school from 1911 to 1973, and in June 2024, just before their pastor Father Anthoni Ottagan departed for a new assignment, the parish dedicated plaques listing the sisters and priests who had served the community. At that celebration, Sister Nancy Murphy and Sister Jacinta Powers were recognized as the two living Ursulines who had served at St. Elizabeth.
- Ursuline Sisters opened the original St. Elizabeth School in 1911.
- Religious community taught at the school continuously until 1973.
- The Maple Mount motherhouse is about 3 miles from the parish.
- Plaques honoring sisters and priests were dedicated in the parish hall in June 2024.
Clergy and Staff
The current pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish is Rev. John Okoro, as listed by the Diocese of Owensboro. The parish has been closely twinned in pastoral care with neighboring parishes in the Owensboro-area cluster; previous pastors have included Fr. Anthoni Ottagan (who was reassigned in June 2024) and Fr. Brian Roby, who at one point served as pastor with Msgr. Bernard Powers in residence and Ray Jones as music minister. The parish office is supported by a parish secretary.
- Current Pastor: Rev. John Okoro
- Former Pastor: Fr. Anthoni Ottagan (departed June 2024)
- Former Pastor: Fr. Brian Roby
- Music Minister (historical): Ray Jones
- Parish Secretary (historical): Judy Schadler
- In Residence (historical): Msgr. Bernard Powers
Mass and Liturgical Schedule
The Diocese of Owensboro lists St. Elizabeth's regular Mass schedule as Sunday at 9:30 AM, Tuesday at 6:00 PM, and Thursday at 8:00 AM. Third-party Catholic-church directories also report additional seasonal weekday Masses — including Monday at 7:30 AM and Tuesday at 7:30 AM during parts of the year — and Eucharistic Adoration. Historically, the parish also offered daily Mass on Friday morning and a Thursday-evening holy hour.
- Sunday Mass: 9:30 AM
- Tuesday Mass: 6:00 PM
- Thursday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Seasonal/additional weekday Masses (per third-party schedule): Monday 7:30 AM, Tuesday 7:30 AM
- Eucharistic Adoration: First Tuesday following 7:30 AM Mass; historically Thursdays 6:00–7:00 PM
Parish Facilities
The parish campus centers on the 1887 church at 6143 1st Street in Curdsville, with the former St. Elizabeth School (rebuilt in 1954–55) standing nearby as the parish hall. The hall is used for parish gatherings and houses the recently dedicated plaques honoring the Ursuline Sisters and the priests who served the parish.
- Historic church (1887)
- Parish hall in the former school building (rebuilt 1954–55)
- Memorial plaques dedicated June 2024
Sister Parishes in the Cluster
St. Elizabeth shares pastoral and administrative resources with two other parishes in the western Daviess County cluster. St. Alphonsus is identified as a sister parish in community-published material, and Precious Blood Catholic Church in Owensboro maintains the most complete online presence for St. Elizabeth, including a dedicated page on its website. This twinning allows a small rural congregation like Curdsville to maintain a regular Mass schedule and sacramental life.
- St. Alphonsus Parish (sister parish)
- Precious Blood Catholic Church, Owensboro (administratively linked; hosts St. Elizabeth's web information)
Curdsville and the Green River Country
St. Elizabeth is rooted in a tiny former river-trading town. Curdsville takes its name from H. T. Curd of Louisville, who in the 1840s reportedly rewarded local settler Aprilla Spray with a barrel of whiskey for naming the town in his honor. By 1887 the town had 275 residents, two dry-goods stores, two family groceries, two saloons, a tobacco stemmery, and — counting St. Elizabeth — three churches. Today the parish remains one of the spiritual anchors of the community.
- Town named for H. T. Curd of Louisville, mid-19th century.
- Post Office opened in Curdsville in 1855.
- 1887 census noted two existing churches and a third under construction (St. Elizabeth).
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Anthoni Ottaganthrough June 2024
Departed for a new assignment in June 2024, the weekend the parish honored its Ursuline Sisters and priests with commemorative plaques.
- Fr. Brian Roby
Listed as pastor on the Precious Blood parish site covering St. Elizabeth; later Fr. Suneesh Mathew (2016–2024) served the linked cluster of parishes.