Thirteen young adults were confirmed by Bishop William F. Medley in a Mass at St. Paul Parish in Princeton, Ky., on May 5. The Mass and Confirmation were part of the 150th anniversary of St. Paul. Front row (left to right): Keegan Knott, Christian Patton, Justin Klidzejs, Jonathan Adams, Bishop Medley, Jackie Pineda, Emilee Klidzejs, Landon Swann. Back row (left to right); Dcn. Paul Bachi, Gaige Sherrill, Marley Stewart, Colin Turmero, Kassidy Knott, Kale Turmero, Fr. Jojy Joseph Olickal, Sebastian Cowan. COURTESY OF KEN NEGRAY

BY KEN NEGRAY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

St. Paul Parish in Princeton, Ky., celebrated its 150-year anniversary on May 5, 2024.  Part of the historic celebration consisted of a Mass with the Sacrament of Confirmation bestowed upon 13 young men and women, administered by Bishop William F. Medley. Confirmation confers the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon the recipient. A parish dinner with historical information followed the Mass.

Catholicism got its start in the Princeton area when early Masses were offered in the private homes of Catholics by circuit-riding priests coming from Fancy Farm, Hopkinsville, Paducah, and Henshaw, Ky.  Fr. E.J. Durbin, who rode a mule over a wide area, was the first priest to serve this territory.  Fr. Durbin took charge of the Princeton area in 1873, but continued to serve scattered Catholics in Livingston, Crittenden, Caldwell, Trigg and Lyon counties, Ky.

In 1871 and 1873, Bishop McClosy of Louisville purchased two adjoining lots in the town of Princeton for a church. The original frame church building was built on the corner of Washington and Harrison Streets in 1874. This is now the site of the U.S. post office building in Princeton.  In 1904 Fr. Odendah, pastor of St. Ambrose Catholic church in Henshaw, remodeled the frame church and added electricity to the building.

In 1935 the federal government purchased the lot the church was on for $9,000. The lot was destined to be used for a new post office building. A new gothic designed brick church was built on the second adjoining lot in 1935 by Fr. John Vance. The new church building would seat 200 people. The old frame church building was sold for $1 and moved a few blocks west on Washington Street. This building served the community first as a general store, and later as a restaurant, lasting in the 1960s.

In 1947 St. Paul purchased a two-story apartment house for $1 to be used as a parochial school. Fr. George Boehmicke established St. Paul School. Alterations to convert the house to a school cost $1,200.  The school held its first classes in 1948 for grades 1-8.  Ursuline Sisters from Maple Mount, Ky., staffed the school for 25 years. This school building provided education for Catholic and non-Catholic children until 1963.

The original steeple bell and steeple cross from the 1935 St. Paul Church in downtown Princeton, Ky., have been made into a shrine which stands in front of the present location. This memorial of these two original church features reminds all who enter of the rich history of St. Paul Parish. COURTESY OF KEN NEGRAY

A 12-acre tract of land on the Old Eddyville Road (Highway 293) was purchased in 1961 for a new education building as well as for a future church structure.  The school building was built in 1961, and the first classes were held on November 7, 1963.

Fr. Thomas Clark was named as the first resident pastor of St. Paul Parish in 1963.  With a resident priest, all Sunday Masses and holy day Masses were now celebrated. St. Paul became an independent parish with two mission posts attached: Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville and Outwood State Hospital and School at Dawson Springs became missions of St. Paul. Over time, eight mission churches were attached to St. Paul, including St. Joseph and St. Stephen near Canton, St. William in Marion, Resurrection in Dawson Springs, and St. Mark in Eddyville, Ky.

The old St. Paul church and rectory properties in downtown Princeton were sold to the General Services Administration in March 1970 for further expansion of the post office.  The money received paid off the mortgage on the new school building and left funds for the purchase of a mobile home as a temporary rectory, located on the 12-acre parcel on the Old Eddyville Road, as well as funding for a new church.

A successful building fund drive was conducted in August 1972 and approval was granted by Bishop Henry J. Soenneker for the construction of a new church on the 12-acre parcel on the Old Eddyville Road.  The new church building was blessed and dedicated on April 20, 1974.  Capital improvements continued in St. Paul Parish with the black topping of the parking lot in the summer of 1974 and the building of a new rectory adjacent to the church.  The rectory and its furnishings were a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Day in memory of their son John Moser Day.

St. Paul School closed at the end of 1985-86 school year. The school served the Catholic and surrounding community for 38 years, beginning in 1948.  A declining Catholic enrollment and increasing financial obligations to operate the school according to state code contributed to the decision to close.  Declining enrollment reduced the school to six grades in 1973 and to five grades in 1978.

A note of pride of St. Paul was the establishment of “Marketplace” on the St. Paul campus in 1991. A group of volunteers from five local churches developed a curriculum of bible study to facilitate religious education for youths from kindergarten through fifth grade. The bible fair ran for three consecutive days in the summer. Up to 125 youths participated annually in the bible fair. Kids were taught bible lessons by having volunteers dress in biblical attire to teach and have them participate in biblical activities.   An example was Fr. Tony Stevenson dressed as Moses and leading the kids all over the grounds of St. Paul to simulate the wandering in the desert.  A cadre of gracious men and women readily volunteered to dress and teach in a biblical fashion to help the kids learn about the bible, its times, meaning and characters. Marketplace was held annually at St. Paul for 26 consecutive years until 2017.

St. Paul Parish in Princeton, Ky., celebrated its 150-year anniversary on May 5, 2024. COURTESY OF KEN NEGRAY

In the spring of 1999, St. Paul Parish observed its 125th anniversary; its Sesquicentennial. During those 125 years, eight new parishes have been established by parishioners and in territory which were originally part of St. Paul.

In 2019 a narthex vestibule was added on the front of the church, including a kitchenette and two restrooms. The interior of the church was also renovated with new ceiling paint, new altar and ambo, new altar chairs, new tile for the altar and sanctuary floor, renovated crucifix and Stations of the Cross and updated mother’s chapel and confessional. The Center (old school) dining area was also renovated including a remodeled kitchen with new cabinets, floor, stove and oven warmer.  Men’s and women’s restrooms were added. The floor, walls, and ceiling were painted. LED lights were installed in the ceiling. New carpet was installed in the meeting area. New tables and chairs were purchased for the dining area. The addition of the narthex, church renovations and Center renovations were made possible due to the generous donations of the late James R. (Jim Bob) Kevil, a lifelong parishioner of St. Paul.

There are currently 65 families on the membership role for St. Paul Parish. The pastor of St. Paul is Fr. Jojy Joseph Olickal, who came to the United States as a member of the Heralds of Good News Missionary Order in India. Due to the shortage of priests in the U.S., Fr. Jojy was called to the Diocese of Owensboro. He is now incardinated in the Diocese of Owensboro and will remain in this diocese. Rev. Jojy has been the pastor of St. Paul Parish since 2017.

There are a few remaining memorials from the earlier brick gothic church that remain part of our heritage and cultural reminders of the rich and noble history of St Paul Catholic Church in Princeton. They remind all who enter of our long, proud and rich history of St. Paul Parish.  These memorials will remain a foundation of St. Paul.

St. Paul will maintain its longstanding history and remain vibrant to lead current and future parishioners into the future as St. Paul Parish will continue its religious ministry to the Catholic faithful in Princeton and the surrounding area.

Members of St. Paul Parish stand with Bishop Medley after he celebrated Mass in honor of St Paul 150-year anniversary on May 5, 2024, in Princeton, Ky. COURTESY OF KEN NEGRAY

Ken Negray belongs to St. Paul Parish in Princeton, Ky.