ABOUT OUR PARISH

Before the Catholic Church was brought to Lewisburg, a priest came from Columbia bi-monthly and celebrated Mass in the home of Leo Weaver. After Mr. Weaver passed away, the 25-member congregation gathered for weekly Mass at the concession stand at the old drive-in theater on Highway 31A North.

​

In the spring of 1955, Father Edward Elliot, pastor of Maury and Marshall Counties, made arrangements with Father John Cain, pastor of Coffee and Bedford Counties, to have a church building brought from Tullahoma to Lewisburg. The building was located on Highway 31A. In 1979 Ted Wakefield donated land at 1061 South Ellington Parkway, and the parish hall was built. It served as the worship space until the dedication of the present church on March 20, 1983. 

​

The Glenmary Home Missioners assumed the pastoral care of the parish from 1967 until 1996. The Glenmary priests who served us were Fathers Frank Gardner, Gerald Peterson, Frank Ruff, Brian LaBurt, and Michael Langell. They resided at St. William’s rectory in Shelbyville and served both parishes.

The Diocese of Nashville assumed responsibility for the parish’s leadership in June of 1996.  Fr. Zacharias Payikat, CMI, was assigned parish administrator until July 1997. Fr. Michael Bigley, a Salvatorian, became pastor of St. John and St. William in July 1997.  Diocesan Fr. John Baltz was appointed administrator in December 1998.

 

The Salvadorians resumed responsibility in July 2000. The Salvatorian priests who served us were Fathers Paul Portland, Jude Weisenbeck, the first resident priest, Thomas Perrin, and Barry Griffin. Fr. George Chennapallil from India assumed the post in 2007 with Fr. William Kelly, SDS, serving from 2008 to 2014. Fr Jose Kariamadam, CMI, served the parish from 2014 to 2019. He was succeeded by another priest from India, Fr. Regimon Augustine, MSFS, who is currently our parish priest. Sister Cathryn Kever, SSSF, worked at St. John for ten years as pastoral coordinator until June 1999. Brother Van Todd, SDS, became pastoral coordinator in June 1999 until 2014.

Our Mission Statement: We, the members of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, recognize and respect our diverse and multicultural character. By the grace of God, we will nurture our spiritual community through prayer, service, and example to become one family in Christ.

We welcome you to join us in our faith journey as we serve the people of Marshall County together.