A Parish and School on Lynnbrook Drive
On Lynnbrook Drive in the St. Regis Park neighborhood of Louisville, Ascension Parish and its adjoining Catholic School form a single community of faith and learning. The parish serves families across eastern Jefferson County with daily Mass, the seven sacraments, faith formation for every age, and a kindergarten through eighth-grade school that has earned both a National Blue Ribbon and a National Green Ribbon. What makes Ascension distinctive is the way the parish and school are intertwined: students pray in the church building, religious education classes meet in the school library, and parish families send their children to Kid's Time for after-school care on the same campus. Both the parish and school share the address 4600 Lynnbrook Drive, Louisville, Kentucky 40220.
Mass, Reconciliation, and Eucharistic Adoration
Weekend Masses are celebrated on Saturdays at 4:00 PM and Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30 AM. Weekday Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 8:15 AM, with the rosary prayed twenty minutes before each weekend Mass and at 7:45 AM on weekdays. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard on Saturdays at 3:00 PM and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM, with appointments available outside those times for those who call the parish office. Eucharistic Adoration takes place on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and on the first Friday of each month from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.
Mass and other liturgies are livestreamed through the parish YouTube channel. The parish also produces the Ascension Catholic Podcast, with episodes available on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts; recent conversations have featured Deacon Evrard Muhoza reflecting on his path from East Africa to priestly ordination, and Father Matthew Millay on stewardship, vocations, and the life of the parish. Each week an online newsletter, the Week in Faith, is sent out with the latest announcements, and a printed bulletin can be downloaded or viewed through DiscoverMass. Parish news is also shared through a weekly email, the Ascension Connect, and through short videos posted to the parish YouTube feed.
Ascension Catholic School: Blue and Green Ribbons
Ascension Catholic School sits on the same campus as the parish church and serves students from three-year-old preschool through eighth grade. The school was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2019 and as a National Green Ribbon School in 2022, honors awarded by the U.S. Department of Education for academic achievement and environmental stewardship. Students in the school consistently rank among the top five in reading and math across the Archdiocese of Louisville, and nearly sixty percent of graduates earn honor roll distinction in high school. The school mascot is the Longhorn.
The curriculum blends traditional Catholic education with contemporary tools. Every student in kindergarten through eighth grade participates in a one-to-one iPad program, and the school maintains a technology and robotics lab that has earned first place in the city robotics championship in back-to-back years. Special-area classes include art, music, physical education, library and technology, Spanish, and the Trivium program, a classical curriculum track that emphasizes grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Class sizes stay small, and instruction is differentiated so that each child is both challenged and supported. The school maintains a zero-tolerance stance on bullying and a strong commitment to forming Christian thought leaders.
Athletics are run through the Catholic School Athletic Association (CSAA), with competitive teams in several sports. Recent seasons have included city championship volleyball teams. Students who play a CSAA sport are required to be active in the parish Religious Education program, a reflection of how closely the school and parish are woven together.
Published tuition rates for the current school year are $9,100 for one K-8 child who is a Catholic parishioner, $13,700 for two, and $16,300 for three or more. Non-parishioner rates are $10,400 for one, $15,500 for two, and $20,600 for three or more, with preschool tuition at $7,400 per child. Tuition assistance is available through the Catholic Education Foundation, and a $1,000 referral discount is offered. Tours can be scheduled through the school office.
After School Care, Summer Camp, and Religious Education
When the final bell rings, Kid's Time takes over. The parish after-school program serves children ages three through fifth grade from the end of the school day until 5:30 PM, with homework help, snacks, indoor and outdoor games, art, science, and drama. Registration is flexible, with two to five days per week available. During the summer, Kid's Time Summer Camp fills the days with themed weeks that include swimming, field trips, cooking, music, drama, reading challenges, and special guests.
Children who attend public school or another school can still receive Catholic formation at Ascension through the parish Religious Education program. Classes meet on selected Sundays at 9:30 AM in the school library and end in time for the 10:30 AM Mass. The schedule follows the academic year, with sessions from September through April. Parents participate in sacramental preparation alongside the catechists, and enrollment in Religious Education is a requirement for any student who wishes to play a CSAA sport through the parish.
Sacraments of Initiation from Baptism to Confirmation
Ascension follows the traditional Catholic sequence for the sacraments of initiation, with parish school and Religious Education students preparing together. Baptism for infants and young children begins with a parish registration form and a required preparation session for first-time parents.
First Reconciliation is prepared in the fall of second grade, with the sacrament celebrated that autumn; First Holy Communion follows in the spring. Students who do not attend Ascension Catholic School meet for six Wednesday evenings in the fall for First Reconciliation and six Wednesday evenings in the spring for First Communion. The Signs of Grace curriculum from Seton Press provides the catechetical foundation.
Confirmation is typically celebrated in the winter of eighth grade, with preparation that includes catechesis, service hours, prayer, a sponsor night, and a retreat. The Dynamic Catholic Decision Point curriculum guides the candidates. Older teens or adults who have not received these sacraments can begin the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), the adult formation process that walks inquirers through the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church and culminates at the Easter Vigil. The parish also runs a subscription to Formed.org, giving every parishioner free access to Catholic movies, Bible studies, audio, and books, and offers a free Faith Correspondence Course with ten lesson booklets and quizzes.
Couples preparing for marriage contact the parish office to begin planning the Nuptial Mass; the parish offers resources for selecting readings and music. The Anointing of the Sick is available to anyone suffering from a serious illness by arrangement with the pastor. Young men discerning a call to the priesthood or religious life are referred to the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Planning a Catholic Funeral at Ascension
Ascension has developed one of the more detailed funeral planning guides in the Archdiocese, intended both for families arranging a service and for individuals who wish to pre-plan their own. The Funeral Rites are described in three parts: the Vigil Service, usually held at the funeral home on the evening before; the Funeral Liturgy, the principal celebration of the Christian funeral with the parish community; and the Rite of Committal at the gravesite, mausoleum, or cemetery chapel. Within the Funeral Liturgy, families choose readings from a curated selection of Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel passages, each one listed with a brief description and a link to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops text. Music is drawn from a recommended list, with separate suggestions for the gathering song, preparation of the gifts, communion, song of farewell, and recessional; pre-recorded or secular music is permitted at the visitation but not within the Mass itself.
Ascension, along with the publishers whose hymnals it uses, has chosen not to perform music composed by David Haas. Cremation has been permitted by the Church since the 1960s, but cremated remains are to be kept together and interred rather than scattered. Eulogies are reserved for the visitation or the burial; within the Mass, family members or friends may offer three to five minutes of "words of remembrance" after Communion, a brief tribute to the faith and values of the deceased.
Natural Family Planning and Support for Families
The parish maintains an unusually thorough set of family resources. The Church's teaching on fertility-awareness methods is available, with local instructors for the Creighton Model, the Marquette Method, and the sympto-thermal method, and links to the Couple to Couple League, the Family Renewal Project, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Fertility care and women's health resources include the St. Paul VI Institute, NaProTechnology, the Fertility Science Institute, My Catholic Doctor, and other resources for reproductive health from a Catholic perspective. The parish observes Natural Family Planning Awareness Week each July, with the theme set by the U.S. bishops around the anniversary of Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.
Support groups connected with Ascension include Alcoholics Anonymous, Eden Invitation (a Catholic community for people with LGBTQ+ experiences), the Courage Apostolate for men and women with same-sex attractions, and the Encourage Apostolate for their family members. Project Rachel, the post-abortion healing ministry of the Archdiocese of Louisville, is available through a confidential hotline, and the Little Way Pregnancy Center offers additional support for women and families. The parish also maintains a current directory of local Catholic food pantries for those in need, and links to resources on Catholic family life from the Archdiocese and the U.S. bishops, including parenting guides, safety resources, and bereavement support.
The Annual Rhythm of Stewardship and Fundraisers
Each fall the parish rolls out its stewardship renewal for the coming fiscal year, with a letter from the pastor, a pledge form, and a ministry volunteer form. An online giving calculator helps families estimate their annual gift and translate it into monthly, weekly, or annual payments. Recurring online giving is set up through WeShare.
Ascension's largest annual fundraiser is the iGiveCatholic campaign on Giving Tuesday in early December, with advanced giving opening in mid-November. Recent campaigns have resurfaced the parish and school playgrounds, installed LED lighting in the parking lot and sports field, added 3M security window film to doors and windows, and replaced exterior security cameras. The summer brings the parish Fish Fry and Summer Festival, two long-running community events. A Golf Scramble fundraiser takes place each summer at a local course, with individual and team entries, sponsorships, and short volunteer shifts. The Easy Money Sweepstakes, a raffle that supports the school, runs throughout the year.
Joining Ascension and Meeting the Pastoral Staff
New parishioners are invited to stop by the parish office during office hours to complete a registration form. The pastoral staff includes Father Matthew Millay as Pastor; Deacons John Lewis and Doug Korfhage; Terry Mullaney as Principal of Ascension Catholic School; Valerie Shell as Director of Early Childhood Programs; Dawn Wright as Director of Music; and Fred White as Director of Religious Education. Faculty and staff of the school are listed individually, with detailed biographies for the preschool through eighth-grade teachers.
Visiting Ascension
The church building is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM, on Saturday from 3:00 to 5:15 PM, and on Sunday from 7:45 to 11:45 AM; access is through Door #1 during those times. The parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM and on Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, with extended summer hours. The school office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. The parish phone is 502-451-3860 and the school phone is 502-451-2535.