About St. Sebastian · Kingwood, West Virginia
St. Sebastian is a Roman Catholic parish in Kingwood, West Virginia, seated in the county seat of Preston County. It is one of three Catholic parishes that together make up the Catholic Church of Preston County (the others being St. Edward the Confessor in Terra Alta and St. Zita in Masontown), sharing a single pastor, office staff, and faith-formation director. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston and offers a Saturday Vigil Mass, a Sunday morning Mass, and a Friday weekday Mass with First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- Established
- 1914
- Patron
- St. Sebastian (early Christian martyr, Roman soldier, patron saint of athletes and soldiers)
- Rector
- Rev. Dominic Athishu
- Diocese
- Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston (West Virginia)
Why belong here
St. Sebastian is a small, mission-rooted parish where the pastor and the parish staff — a secretary, a director of religious education, and a coordinator for the Summer Home Repair outreach — also serve the two neighboring Catholic churches of Preston County, so newcomers quickly get to know the wider Catholic family of the area. Weekly Mass is offered both Saturday evening and Sunday morning, Friday brings a weekday Mass with Holy Hour and confessions, First Fridays add a Consecration to the Sacred Heart, and a parish Summer Home Repair program reaches out beyond the church walls to neighbors in need of practical help. It is a faithful, hard-working country parish that welcomes those who wish to belong.
Mass times at St. Sebastian
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 9:00 AM (during the Holy Hour following the 8:30 AM Mass)
Adoration times
- Friday 9:00 AM Holy Hour (with Rosary and Confession) following the 8:30 AM Mass
St. Sebastian Parish at a Glance
St. Sebastian is the Catholic parish of Kingwood, the county seat of Preston County, West Virginia. It sits on East Main Street and is one of three parishes that together form the Catholic Church of Preston County, sharing staff and pastoral leadership across the cluster.
- Parish: St. Sebastian, Kingwood, WV
- Part of: Catholic Church of Preston County (St. Edward the Confessor, Terra Alta; St. Zita, Masontown)
- Diocese: Wheeling–Charleston
- Address: 322 East Main St., Kingwood, WV 26537
- Phone: (304) 329-1519
- Email: [email protected]
History of the Parish
The parish traces its origins to 1914, when the Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston established the St. Sebastian Mission in Kingwood, taking over from an earlier St. Peter station. It grew alongside the small coal-country towns and farming communities of northeastern West Virginia and remains today a tight-knit country parish within the diocesan family.
- Pre-1914: Catholic presence in Kingwood served as a mission station of St. Peter.
- 1914: St. Sebastian Mission formally established in Kingwood (Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston history).
- Today: Active parish sharing leadership with St. Edward the Confessor and St. Zita to serve all of Preston County.
The Story of St. Sebastian (the Patron)
The parish's website tells the traditional story of St. Sebastian for visitors. Sebastian entered the Roman army in 283 AD, was promoted to the Praetorian Guard of Emperor Diocletian, and secretly practiced his Christian faith. He encouraged the imprisoned brothers Marcus and Marcellian to stay faithful, was betrayed as a Christian, was tied to a post and shot with arrows (left 'full of arrows as an urchin'), was nursed back to health by St. Irene of Rome, and was ultimately beaten to death and his body thrown into a sewer after he publicly reproached Diocletian for persecuting Christians. His feast day is January 20 and he is the patron saint of athletes and soldiers.
- Patron of athletes and soldiers
- Feast day: January 20
- Martyred for reproaching Emperor Diocletian
Clergy, Staff, and Pastoral Team
Because St. Sebastian is one of three clustered parishes in Preston County, much of the day-to-day ministry is shared. The pastor and staff listed on the St. Sebastian page cover the needs of all three Preston County parishes.
- Pastor: Rev. Dominic Athishu
- Secretary: Karen Kurilko
- Director of Religious Education: Cindy Riggins
- Summer Home Repair Coordinator: Joyce Radabaugh
- Parish phone: (304) 329-1519
- Parish email: [email protected]
Religious Education and Faith Formation
Faith formation for the children and families of all three Preston County parishes is coordinated through the parish office, under the Director of Religious Education. The director's contact is listed on the parish's St. Sebastian page.
- Director of Religious Education: Cindy Riggins
- Faith-formation offerings shared across the three Preston County parishes
Parish Outreach: Summer Home Repair
A distinctive feature of the Catholic Church of Preston County is its Summer Home Repair program, which organizes volunteer home-repair help for neighbors in need across the area. It is listed on the main parish page and coordinated locally for St. Sebastian and the other two parishes.
- Program: Summer Home Repair (parish outreach)
- Coordinator listed on parish page: Joyce Radabaugh
- Volunteers typically recruited each summer through parish announcements
Camp McKenna and Diocesan Life
The parish homepage advertises sign-ups for Camp McKenna, a Catholic summer-camp experience that is a regular part of youth ministry in the Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston, and promotes the annual Catholic Sharing Appeal.
- Sign-ups publicized for Camp McKenna (diocesan Catholic summer camp)
- Annual Catholic Sharing Appeal supported by the parish
Languages and Bilingual Outreach
Mass at St. Sebastian is celebrated in English. The parish website notes that it is available in Spanish and invites Spanish-speaking visitors to check with the parish office regarding additional Spanish-language resources, reflecting the wider diocesan effort to reach the growing Spanish-speaking Catholic population in West Virginia.
- Sunday and weekday Mass: English
- Website available in Spanish
- Parish office can be contacted about additional Spanish-language resources