About St. Stephen · Cumberland, Kentucky
St. Stephen is a small mission parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington located at 304 Central Street in Cumberland, Harlan County, Kentucky. Founded in 1941, it is part of a three-church mountain cluster that also includes Holy Trinity in Harlan and the Church of the Resurrection in Lynch — the pastoral home of Father Terrence de Silva, who arrived in 2019 as the first resident priest in Harlan County in more than three decades. St. Stephen hosts the largest food pantry in Harlan County, distributing about 600 boxes of food each month to families across the surrounding coal-country communities of southeastern Kentucky.
- Established
- 1941
- Patron
- St. Stephen
- Rector
- Rev. Terrence de Silva
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lexington
Why belong here
St. Stephen is one of the most mission-driven small parishes in the Diocese of Lexington — a tight-knit Appalachian Catholic community in Cumberland where, on any given week, the parish is feeding hundreds of families through the largest food pantry in Harlan County. Worshipping here means joining a faith family that, under Father Terrence de Silva, takes seriously both the Eucharist and the corporal works of mercy: food, clothing, help with utility bills, and a ride when someone is walking the mountain roads. For visitors and parishioners alike, St. Stephen offers a Catholic home in a part of Kentucky where the Church is a literal lifeline.
Mass times at St. Stephen
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM
History of St. Stephen Parish
St. Stephen was established in 1941 in Cumberland, Kentucky, during the post-World War II wave of Catholic missionary expansion into the Appalachian mountain counties under Bishop William T. Mulloy of the Diocese of Covington. It was founded alongside Holy Trinity in Harlan and the Church of the Resurrection in Lynch to serve the immigrant and Appalachian Catholic families of Harlan County's coal communities. Catholic life in the county actually stretches back further, to a small frame mission chapel built at Benham in 1913 with help from the Catholic Church Extension Society and blessed by Bishop Camillus Maes.
- Founded: 1941
- County: Harlan, Kentucky
- Diocese: Diocese of Lexington (formerly Covington)
- Cluster parishes: Holy Trinity (Harlan) and Church of the Resurrection (Lynch)
The Harlan County Catholic Cluster
St. Stephen does not stand alone. Since 2019 it has been shepherded as part of a three-parish mountain cluster under Father Terrence de Silva, who resides at Holy Trinity in Harlan but circulates among all three churches. Together the cluster serves Harlan County Catholics across Cumberland, Harlan, and Lynch, pooling resources for worship, faith formation, and social outreach in one of the poorest regions of eastern Kentucky.
- Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Harlan (pastor's residence)
- St. Stephen Catholic Church, Cumberland
- Church of the Resurrection, Lynch
Pastor and Leadership
The current pastor of St. Stephen is Rev. Terrence de Silva, who was assigned to the Harlan County cluster on July 1, 2019 — the first resident priest to live in the county in more than thirty-two years. Prior to his arrival the three parishes had been served without an in-residence priest for decades. Father de Silva previously served at the Newman Center at the University of Kentucky, from which he brought a second collection of more than $5,300 to seed the Holy Trinity Parish Outreach Program. Earlier listings also identify Rev. Mani George, MC as a former pastor of St. Stephen.
- Current Pastor: Rev. Terrence de Silva
- Email: [email protected]
- Dean: Mountain East Deanery, Diocese of Lexington
- Earlier pastor on record: Rev. Mani George, MC
Parish Outreach and Food Pantry
St. Stephen is the social-services heart of the Harlan County Catholic cluster. Its food pantry is the largest in the county, distributing about 600 boxes of food every month to families in Cumberland and the surrounding hollows — so essential that, during the pandemic, residents said they would starve without it. The parish also helps neighbors with utility bills, clothing, and other basic needs, and even offers rides to people walking the long distances between mountain towns. In Father de Silva's words, the parish tries to follow the pattern of Christ: feed people first, then preach.
- Food pantry: ~600 boxes per month (largest in Harlan County)
- Utility-bill, clothing, and household assistance
- Cluster-wide distribution site for Holy Trinity outreach
- Featured by Catholic Extension Society as a lifeline ministry in eastern Kentucky
Sacraments and Faith Formation
As a mission parish, St. Stephen offers the core sacraments — Eucharist, Reconciliation, and preparation through RCIA (now often called OCIA) for adults becoming Catholic. Marriage preparation, baptism, and other sacramental needs are coordinated through the parish office. Because the parish shares its priest with Holy Trinity and Resurrection, weekday and additional sacramental opportunities are available at the cluster's other churches.
- Reconciliation: Saturday 4:30 PM
- Eucharist: Saturday Vigil, 5:00 PM
- RCIA / OCIA (Becoming Catholic)
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick: contact the parish office
Visiting Cumberland, Kentucky
Cumberland is a small Appalachian city in Harlan County, deep in the southeastern Kentucky coalfields. The parish sits at 304 Central Street in the heart of town. Like the rest of the region, the parish reflects the deep history of the coal industry — and the resilience of the families who remained after the mines contracted. Visitors will find a modest, welcoming mountain Catholic community where Mass is intimate and the parish's charitable reach extends far beyond its walls.
- Address: 304 Central Street, Cumberland, KY 40823
- County: Harlan County, Kentucky
- Handicap-access ramp available
- Mailing address used by the parish office: c/o Holy Trinity, 2536 South US Hwy 421, Harlan, KY 40831
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Mani George, MC
Listed as pastor in older directory entries (pre-2019).
- Rev. Terrence de Silva2019–present
Arrived July 1, 2019 as first resident priest in Harlan County in over 32 years; pastor of the three-church Harlan County cluster (Holy Trinity, St. Stephen, Church of the Resurrection).