About St. Francis de Sales (Ss. Francis & John Parish) · Georgetown, Kentucky
Ss. Francis and John Catholic Parish is a Roman Catholic parish serving Georgetown, Kentucky, and the surrounding Scott County community in the Diocese of Lexington. It is one of the oldest Catholic congregations in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, with roots tracing back to 1786 when Maryland Catholic settlers established a mission at White Sulphur Springs. The parish today worships primarily at Cardome Main Chapel (806 Cincinnati Road, Georgetown), with the historic St. Francis de Sales Mission Church (4086 Frankfort Road) still active for a Sunday afternoon Mass. It serves more than 600 families, offers weekly Mass in both English and Spanish, runs the parish-affiliated St. John School, and is currently building a new Parish Life Center on the Cardome campus.
- Established
- 1786
- Patron
- St. Francis de Sales (historic mission church); St. John (school and combined parish name)
- Rector
- Rev. Linh X. Nguyen
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lexington
Why belong here
Ss. Francis and John offers a rare combination: a deep historical Catholic identity in Kentucky (the second-oldest parish in the state, where Mass was first celebrated in 1793) and a vibrant contemporary ministry. Parishioners can worship daily — English and Spanish Masses, Thursday Confession, and all-day Thursday Eucharistic Adoration (7:30 AM – 10 PM) — while their children attend the parish's own St. John School. The parish is investing in its future with a new community-focused Parish Life Center on the Cardome campus (groundbreaking 2025, expected to open by Christmas 2025) that will house a gym and multi-purpose spaces for worship, school, and community activities.
Mass times at St. Francis de Sales (Ss. Francis & John Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Thursday 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM (Cardome Day Chapel, Building 3)
About Ss. Francis and John Catholic Parish
Ss. Francis and John Catholic Parish is the Catholic community of Georgetown, Kentucky, in the Diocese of Lexington. It is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the Commonwealth, tracing its origin to a Maryland-settler mission at White Sulphur Springs in 1786. Today the parish serves more than 600 families, offering daily Mass in English, a Sunday Spanish Mass, weekly Confession, all-day Thursday Eucharistic Adoration, and parish-school education through St. John School on the Cardome campus.
- Parish name: Ss. Francis and John Catholic Parish
- Diocese: Diocese of Lexington
- Phone: 502-863-3404
- Email: [email protected]
- Primary address: 806 Cincinnati Road, Georgetown, KY 40324 (Cardome Main Chapel)
- Historic worship site: St. Francis de Sales Mission Church, 4086 Frankfort Rd
History
Founded in 1786 by Catholic settlers from Maryland and the site of the first Catholic Mass in Kentucky (December 1, 1793), the parish is rooted in the historic White Sulphur Springs mission. Fr. Stephen Theodore Badin — the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States — was its resident pastor in the 1790s and rode an estimated 100,000 miles across the frontier to serve scattered Catholic families.
The 1820 St. Francis de Sales Mission Church
The brick mission church on Frankfort Pike was built in 1820 at a cost of $3,600 (paid largely in trade goods). Originally named St. Pius, it was rededicated to St. Francis de Sales in 1933. Its Gothic brick exterior with classical detail (fanlights, pilasters), Gothic steeple, arched windows, octagonal interior columns, ash altar rail and pew doors, choir balcony, and the later Our Lady of Fatima shrine make it one of Kentucky's most historically significant small Catholic churches. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Built 1820; cost $3,600; paid largely in trade goods
- Originally named St. Pius; renamed St. Francis de Sales in 1933
- Major restorations in 1929 ($19,000, Fr. Charles A. Towell) and 1951 ($53,000, Fr. Jerome P. Heuerman)
- Brick painted dark red in 1971
Pioneer Priests and Bishops
Five priests who served the historic White Sulphur congregation went on to become bishops — Edward Fenwick (1822), Guy Chabrat (1834), Francis Patrick Kenrick (later Archbishop of Baltimore), Ferdinand Brossart (1915), and Bishop George A. Carrell, the first Bishop of Covington, who established the diocese's first seminary at the mission in 1856. Bishop Carrell made White Sulphur his second home.
- St. Stanislas Preparatory College seminary, founded 1856, disbanded during the Civil War
- Buildings later used as an orphanage by the Religious Brothers of Puy, France
- Diocese of Covington centennial celebrated at the mission in 1953
Religious Sisters and Schools
The Sisters of the Visitation opened Mount Admirabilis, a boarding school for young ladies, on the mission property in 1875; the order relocated to Cardome (former home of Kentucky Governor James F. Robinson) in 1896, where it operated Visitation Academy. The modern St. John School, the parish's K-8 school, continues this educational legacy on the Cardome campus.
- Mount Admirabilis (Sisters of the Visitation), 1875
- Visitation Academy, 1896, on the Cardome campus
- St. John School – current parish school (principal: Brent Mayer)
The St. Francis Cemetery
Across the road from the mission church sits the St. Francis Cemetery, the only Catholic churchyard in Scott County. It contains the graves of religious sisters, priests, and bishops, as well as Revolutionary War soldiers Bennett Greenwell and James Twyman. After the Civil War, parishioners were traditionally buried facing north or south depending on their wartime allegiance.
Worship Schedule
The parish offers a remarkably full schedule of Masses across two worship sites — the Cardome Main Chapel (806 Cincinnati Rd) and the historic St. Francis de Sales Mission Church (4086 Frankfort Rd) — with celebrations in both English and Spanish every Sunday.
- Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM English – Cardome Main Chapel
- Sunday: 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM English – Cardome Main Chapel
- Sunday: 12:30 PM Spanish – Cardome Main Chapel
- Sunday: 4:00 PM English – St. Francis Church, 4086 Frankfort Rd
- Monday: 5:30 PM English – Cardome Main Chapel
- Tuesday: 8:30 AM English – Cardome Main Chapel
- Wednesday: 12:00 PM English – Cardome Main Chapel
- Thursday: 7:00 AM English – Cardome Day Chapel
- First Friday: 6:30 PM Spanish – Cardome Main Chapel
Parish Staff
The parish is led by Fr. Linh X. Nguyen and supported by two deacons, school and parish administrative staff, and ministry coordinators.
- Pastor: Rev. Linh X. Nguyen ([email protected])
- Deacon: Rev. Mr. Dallas Kelley ([email protected])
- Deacon: Rev. Mr. Tim Stout ([email protected])
- School Principal (St. John School): Brent Mayer ([email protected])
- Operations / Facilities Manager: Teri Ward ([email protected])
- Parish Office Administrator / Communications Coordinator: Gina Stewart ([email protected])
- School Administrative Assistant: Jennifer Noffsinger ([email protected])
- Music Director: Jason Hewitt ([email protected])
- Youth Ministry / Religious Ed Coordinator / Confirmation Coordinator: Carlos Maldanado and Malaina Messenger
Faith Formation & Religious Education
The parish's religious education program (CCD) runs annually, with the 2025-2026 year currently underway. Faith formation serves both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking families.
- CCD 2025-2026 program year
- Religious Ed contact: [email protected]
- Confirmation preparation coordinated by Carlos Maldanado and Malaina Messenger
St. John School
St. John School is the parish-affiliated Catholic school on the Cardome campus in Georgetown. It serves as a continuation of the parish's long educational tradition stretching back to the Sisters of the Visitation's Mount Admirabilis (1875) and Visitation Academy (1896). The school offers an Adopt-A-Student program and shares its campus with the parish and the Parish Life Center campaign.
- Principal: Brent Mayer
- School office contact: [email protected]
- Adopt-A-Student donor program available
- Web: stjohnschoolonline.org
Hispanic / Spanish-Language Ministry
The parish serves Georgetown's growing Spanish-speaking Catholic community through a weekly Spanish Mass and Spanish-language religious education, reflecting the historic mission's character as a home for Catholic newcomers to Kentucky — now updated for a new generation of immigrants.
- Sunday 12:30 PM Spanish Mass – Cardome Main Chapel
- First Friday 6:30 PM Spanish Mass – Cardome Main Chapel
- Spanish-language CCD offered through religious education program
Parish Life Center Campaign
In early 2025, Ss. Francis & John Catholic Parish broke ground on a new Parish Life Center at Cardome, blessing the site alongside Georgetown civic leaders. Fr. Linh Nguyen has described the center as a community-focused facility with space for worship, a gym for the school, and multi-purpose rooms for parish activities, with the goal of celebrating Christmas 2025 in the new building.
- Groundbreaking and blessing held in early 2025
- Includes gym for the school and multi-purpose community space
- Target completion: Christmas 2025
- Campaign pledges and donations accepted through the school office
Music & Liturgical Ministry
The parish music program is directed by Jason Hewitt, supporting weekend liturgies across both worship sites as well as special feasts like the historic Feast of Corpus Christi.
- Music Director: Jason Hewitt ([email protected])
- Choir sings from the balcony of the historic St. Francis de Sales Mission Church
Newcomers & Parish Registration
The parish welcomes new parishioners with a dedicated Newcomer Info section and an online Registration option through the parish website, helping families connect with ministries, faith formation, and the parish office.
- Newcomer Info available on the parish website
- Online Registration link on ssfrancisjohn.org
- Parish Office: 502-863-3404 / [email protected]