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307 W. Dixie Avenue, Elizabethtown KY 42701  270-765-6268 Email Us

St. Ignatius Church’s holy services were conducted in the scattered homes of the early pioneer families living near the area known as Harcourt, prior to construction of the Church. The original mission consisted of five families: Charles Nerincks, Peter Schaffer, Robert Abell, Thomas Butler, and Edward Clark.

The most zealous of the early Harcourt pioneers was Sylvester Boarman, whose log home was used as the first house of worship for the congregation. Boarman is credited in the diaries of several early priests as the one person whose untiring efforts led to the construction of the first church.

With the establishment of Bethlehem Academy near St. John Church in 1830, Hardin County received its first resident pastor, Rev. Charles J. Cissell. From the academy, Fr. Cissell served several area missions, including the Harcourt settlement.

Rev. Francis Chambiage succeeded Fr. Cissell in 1832, and he served the Harcourt mission for the next six years. In 1838, Rev. Charles Ignatius Coomes took charge of Bethlehem and its missions. Fr. Coomes persuaded the Harcourt congregation to set their priorities on constructing their first church. By the time he was replaced in 1839, plans were made for the first church.

The long pastorate of Rev. Augustine Degauquier began at Bethlehem in 1839. This energetic young priest was solely responsible for the design and construction of the first church of St. Ignatius. A site was chosen adjacent to a small cemetery, which had been used by the early Catholics of the area for many years, and the new church began to take form in early 1842. Constructed of brick fired on the site from native clay, this simple structure measured 38 feet long by 24 feet wide, and was built at a cost of $1,000. It was dedicated for service under the patronage of St. Ignatius on Oct. 16, 1842, and the parish had grown to about 35 families.

St. Ignatius continued to be served from Bethlehem Academy until January of 1869, when Rev. Terrence J. Disney became the first resident pastor of St. James Church in Elizabethtown, and the care of St. Ignatius was placed with him. Fr. Disney was succeeded by Rev. James J. Ryan in 1873, Rev. Patrick M. J. Rock in 1874, and James J. Cooke in 1875.

With the Catholic population growing along the Nolin River, in 1876, the need for another resident pastor in that vicinity led to the construction of a new pastor’s residence at St. Ignatius, with Rev. John Henry Ignatius Taylor having the distinction of being the parish’s first resident pastor. The two-story frame structure was situated across the road facing the church. Fr. Taylor was also placed in charge of the newly established missions of Red Mills (St. Anthony) and Akers Valley (St. Elizabeth). He began the parish’s first baptismal register on Oct. 1, 1876.

Nine years later in 1885, Fr. Taylor was replaced by Rev. Daniel Joseph McShane, who resided at Harcourt for two years. Rev. Dominic Francis Crane became the next resident pastor in 1887. Along with the Nolin missions, the mission at Bonnieville was added to his care. In 1888, Rev. Louis Hilary Spalding took up residence at Harcourt. In that same year, the Catholics of Cecilian Junction (Cecilia) began construction of a brick church, which was dedicated under the patronage of St. Ambrose on May 23, 1889.

Rev. Michael Dillon was the next priest assigned to St. Ignatius, in 1889. Upon his departure in 1892, the rectory at St. Ignatius ceased to be a permanent pastor’s residence and the care of St. Ignatius was placed in the hands of the pastor at Bethlehem Academy, Rev. James O’Connor. Fr. O’Connor was replaced in 1893 by Rev. John James Abell, who cared for the missions of St. Ignatius, St. Anthony and St. Elizabeth for one year before surrendering them to Rev. Francis Anthony Reinhart, the new rector of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Hodgenville, Ky. The Nolin missions remained in his care for two years.

In 1896, the rapidly growing congregation at Cecilian Junction (St. Ambrose) had begun construction of their own rectory at that location. A resident pastor, Rev. Anthony Helling, was also given charge of the Nolin missions.  For a brief period during the construction of his new rectory at Cecilia, Fr. Helling made his residence in the former St. Ignatius rectory.  The only known photographs of the original church and rectory were made during Fr. Helling’s brief residence at Harcourt.

Fr. Helling was succeeded at Cecilia by Rev. James P. Cronin in 1898; Rev. Stephen A. Holleran in 1900; and Rev. John Devine in 1901. Under the leadership of Fr. Devine, James Osborne, a respected carpenter of the area, was hired to construct the second church of St. Ignatius Demolition of the original church took place in October 1903. The old bricks were transported to the new church site and used in the foundation and chimneys of the new frame church. Work on the new structure began on Monday, Oct. 26, 1903. The building’s dimensions were 60 feet x 30 feet, with two small side rooms added to the back. It opened for services in April 1904. A new cemetery was also started, adjacent to the new church. The former rectory and lot was sold to the family and used as a residence for many years before being destroyed in a fire.

Fr. Divine celebrated Mass in his new church for four years, before being transferred to another parish in 1908. For the next 80 years, the mission station of St. Ignatius was served by the pastors of St. Ambrose in the following order; Rev. Delphine Autheman (1908-1921), Rev. Joseph T. Neeson (1921-1925), Rev. Edward J. Menke (1925-1927), Rev. Anthony J. Thompkins (1927-1933), Rev. James Higdon (1933-1937), Rev. Joseph E. McPherson (1937-1939), Rev. Norbert A. Voll (1939-1945), Rev. Rev. Anthony Howard (1945-1966), Rev. Earl J. Rausch (1966-1974), Rev. Robert A. Brown (1974-1988).

The Akers Valley (St. Elizabeth) mission closed in 1926, and the still unfinished frame building was used as a tobacco barn for several years, before being torn down in 1934. The church’s foundation stones and a small cemetery are all that remains today, atop a small secluded hill near the Spurrier community. The Red Mills (St. Anthony) mission continued to be served from St. Ambrose until 1964, when it was added as a mission of St. James, in Elizabethtown. Declining membership forced the parish to close in 1968.

The structural appearance of the present St. Ignatius church remained virtually unchanged for the first sixty years of its existence. The building adequately met the spiritual needs of the hard working Harcourt farming community. As the Catholic population of the area began to decline in the late 1940’s and 50’s, the parish struggled to maintain its vitality and presence. It was not until the pastorate of Fr. Anthony Howard (1945-1966), that stained glass was installed in the original window frames. A new organ was also purchased for the choir loft.

Nearing his mandatory retirement in 1988, Rev. Robert Brown, who had faithfully served the parish for fourteen years, reluctantly wrote to Archbishop Thomas Kelly, making a recommendation to close St. Ignatius, stating that the parish had declined to a mere 15 families.  In response, a Diocesan review board was sent to St. Ambrose in Cecilia to investigate community reaction to the possibility of closing St. Ignatius, and to get a feel on which local parish might be best suited to share a pastor with St. Ambrose. A very vocal and determined group representing St. Ignatius helped persuade the review board not to close the parish. The decision was made to place St. Ambrose and St. Ignatius under the care of St. James, in Elizabethtown, with Rev. Charles Joseph Batcheldor as pastor and Rev. Scott J. Wimsett assisting. One year later, St. Ambrose was attached as a mission of St. John the Baptist in Rineyville, while St. Ignatius remained attached to St. James in Elizabethtown.

Fr. Joe Batcheldor organized the first parish council at St. Ignatius on Oct. 19, 1988. Using mostly volunteer labor, the group enthusiastically embarked on a strategic plan to revitalize the parish and church property.  The group’s first objective was to bring all liturgical practices up to standard.  A choir was formed, and lectors, greeters and Eucharistic ministers were trained. New furniture was added to the sanctuary, and the old communion railing was removed to better utilize the worship space.

In the spring of 1989, parishioners began the work of improving the church structure and surrounding grounds. The first major project was to replace the church’s foundation. The church was jacked up and the old brick was removed and replaced with concrete block.  Many of the oak support timbers and floor joists which (damaged by decay and termites) were also replaced. In June, 1989, Rev. William L. Fichteman replaced Fr. Batcheldor as pastor, and Rev. Charles E. Reteneller arrived to assist as weekend associate at St. James and St. Ignatius. On July 28, 1991, Fr. Charles Reteneller and Deacon Jay Jenkins presided over the groundbreaking of a new Parish Hall.  Rev. Trumie C. Elliott (Fr. Pepper) replaced Fr. Scott as associate in June 1992.

On Aug. 2, 1992, Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, along with nine visiting priests and over 300 guests, helped St. Ignatius parish celebrate its 150th anniversary.

In June, 1995, Rev. Jeffrey S. Nicolas replaced Fr. Pepper as associate pastor. Fr. Bill Fichteman was transferred to the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville in June 1997, and was replaced by Rev. J. Richard Sullivan. In June, 1998, Rev. J. Randall Hubbard replaced Fr. Jeff as associate pastor.

In June, 2000, Rev. Christopher M. Scalise replaced Fr. Jeff as associate.

On Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002, St. Ignatius Parish celebrated its 160th anniversary. Eight priests who had served the parish were present.  

To commemorate its 160th Anniversary year, the parish purchased a new four foot tall statue of “St. Ignatius of Loyola”, which was produced in Spain, and sent to White Mills for placement in the sanctuary of St. Ignatius Church.  On June 2, 2002, Fr. Chris’s last Sunday at St. Ignatius, he blessed the new statue depicting the man whose patronage has guided the church for one hundred and sixty years. In July 2002, Rev. Peter Quan Do replaced Fr. Chris as associate pastor.

The year 2004 marked the Centennial of the opening of the second (present) church of St. Ignatius. The formal Centennial Mass was celebrated on Aug. 1, 2004 by our silver jubilarian pastor, Rev. J. Richard Sullivan, assisted by Deacon Bill Clark and associate pastor Peter Quan Do.

 Rev. Jeffrey P. Shooner replaced Fr. Peter Do as associate pastor in June, 2005.