A Parish on North Fort Thomas Avenue
St. Catherine of Siena Parish stands on North Fort Thomas Avenue in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, a small city across the Ohio River from Cincinnati in Campbell County. The parish was built up around the current church, which was begun in 1962, and takes as its patron the fourteenth-century Dominican tertiary Catherine of Siena, mystic, Doctor of the Church, and patron saint of Europe. The parish is recognized in northern Kentucky for three things in particular: its distinctive mid-century worship space with its St. Meinrad sandstone facade and Blenko stained glass, the deep investment it has made in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for children ages three through sixth grade, and a steady, year-round pro-life ministry that connects with young women and families in need of practical support.
From its location on the avenue, the parish runs the full sacramental life expected of a Catholic parish: weekend and weekday Mass, Eucharistic Adoration with Benediction, regular confession, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, baptism preparation, marriage preparation, and a bereavement committee that walks families through the funeral rite. Below the church sits a preschool that serves three- and four-year-olds, and the parish also offers religious education for ages three through eighth grade.
The 1962 Building: Sandstone, Blenko Glass, and Fan-Shaped Seating
The current church building was begun in 1962, the era when many suburban American parishes were replacing earlier, more modest structures with larger, architecturally expressive worship spaces. Its facade is faced in St. Meinrad sandstone, a warm, honey-colored stone quarried in southern Indiana by the Benedictine monks of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and long associated with Catholic architecture in this part of the country. The same warm tone carries into the vestibule and around the doors.
The stained glass windows are made of Blenko glass, the bold, hand-cast art glass produced in Milton, West Virginia, recognizable for its rich, jewel-like colors and the way each pane bears the slight irregularities of poured, hand-finished glass. Throughout the interior, the seating is laid out in a fan shape rather than the long central aisle typical of older Catholic churches. The arrangement deliberately focuses the congregation toward the altar and brings worshippers closer together, producing what the parish describes as a more intimate setting for worship.
Weekend Mass, Daily Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration
The Mass schedule is built around two weekend celebrations and a daily rhythm the rest of the week. Weekend Masses are celebrated on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Daily Mass is offered Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings at 8:00 a.m., with an additional Wednesday evening Mass at 5:30 p.m. so that working parishioners, students, and families have a chance to take part on a different day of the week.
On Tuesdays, the church opens for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament beginning at 8:30 a.m., right after morning Mass, and remains in adoration until 6:45 p.m. The day closes with Benediction at 6:45 p.m. and a group Rosary at 7:00 p.m., making Tuesday evening the anchor for weekly Eucharistic devotion at the parish.
A small hospitality tradition runs alongside the Sunday Mass: coffee and donuts are served after the 10:00 a.m. Mass on the second Sunday of each month from September through April, in the gathering space just outside the church.
Confession and the Tuesday Evening Devotions
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered on two regular weekly schedules. On Saturdays, confessions are heard following the 8:00 a.m. morning Mass. A second weekly opportunity runs on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., falling in the middle of that day's Eucharistic Adoration and giving the parish two of its quietest stretches of the week. Other times can be arranged by contacting the parish office.
The Tuesday evening rhythm is the parish's most distinctive devotional pattern. After the 8:00 a.m. Mass and Exposition at 8:30 a.m., the Blessed Sacrament remains exposed for prayer through the workday. The faithful are invited to come and sit for a few minutes or for an hour. The day closes with Benediction at 6:45 p.m., followed by a group Rosary at 7:00 p.m. led by the parish's Rosary Prayer Group, which meets in the church and welcomes anyone who would like to take part.
The Sacraments: Becoming Catholic, Baptism, and Marriage
Adults and older children who wish to become Catholic typically do so through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the standard Catholic process of formation, prayer, study, and gradual entry into the life of the Church. The St. Catherine RCIA group meets on Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. September through April, and the program culminates each year in the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. Inquiries about the program go through John David Kimes at the parish office.
Parents preparing for the baptism of an infant begin with a baptism class, generally held on the fourth Thursday of the month at the parish. Both parents are asked to have attended one of these classes within the last five years in order to have their child baptized at St. Catherine, and the parish encourages families to celebrate the baptism during a Sunday liturgy so that the wider community can welcome the child.
Couples preparing for marriage begin sacramental preparation by meeting with the pastor. At least one member of the couple is expected to be a registered parishioner, and the parish asks couples to contact the office at least six months before the wedding. Arrangements for weddings outside of regular Mass, or with particular music or cultural customs, are worked out together with the pastor during this preparation.
The Funeral Rite and the Bereavement Committee
When a parishioner dies, the bereavement committee of the parish takes on much of the practical work of the funeral. Members of the committee meet with the family to walk through the Funeral Planning Worksheet and finalize selections, freeing families from having to make each decision on their own in the days after a loss. The committee then coordinates the readings, the music, the serving at the funeral luncheon, and other details with the pastor.
The Funeral Planning Guide on the parish site lists the readings, psalms, sample intercessions, and approved songs available for the funeral Mass, with the most popular choices in each category marked. The guide makes available the full set of Catholic funeral readings: thirteen Old Testament options with passages from the Book of Wisdom, Isaiah, Lamentations, Daniel, and Maccabees; nineteen New Testament readings drawn from Peter, Paul, John, and Revelation; and nineteen Gospel options including the raising of Lazarus, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and the road to Emmaus. Ten responsorial psalms are listed for use between the readings, including the familiar The Lord is my shepherd of Psalm 23 and the Jerusalem psalm of rejoicing. A set of sample intercessions is provided, with petitions tailored to occasions such as a long illness, a sudden loss, dementia, or a stillbirth, and a song list of approved hymns closes out the planning materials. Families who would like to use something not listed on the guide work with the bereavement team to ensure it is approved by the pastor.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: A Montessori Approach to Faith Formation
For children ages three through sixth grade, St. Catherine uses the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a faith formation method with deep roots in Catholic education. CGS was created in 1954 in Rome by Dr. Sofia Cavalletti, a biblical scholar, and Professor Gianna Gobbi, a Montessori-trained educator, and it draws on Maria Montessori's principles of respecting the natural development of the child. At St. Catherine, the program is called simply "CGS."
Sessions take place in a specially prepared space called the atrium, filled with handmade, child-size materials designed to draw children into prayer and into a personal relationship with God. Each week the catechist offers a presentation drawn from Scripture or the liturgy, then gives the children time to work with the materials on their own. The role of the catechist is to be attentive to what each child seems to be asking for under the surface: Help me come closer to God by myself.
The parish offers three levels. CGS Level I is for children ages three through kindergarten. The youngest children encounter the Good Shepherd, learn gestures of the Mass, work with the model altar, and meet the Infancy Narratives and Kingdom parables. The verse that frames the work is John 10:3 - He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. CGS Level II covers first through third grade, where children are ready for a deeper sense of their place in salvation history and the moral parables, and work with prayers of the Mass and their own personal missals. CGS Level III covers fourth through sixth grade, where the structure is intended to address the older child's growing grasp of time and their own role in history, with themes drawn from the Trinity, the life of Christ, the Church, Catholic social teaching, and Christian morality.
At St. Catherine, sessions run weekly September through May, with multiple time slots offered for each level to accommodate family schedules. The cost is $150 per child. CGS is offered to the parish preschool children during the school day, with after-school sessions for parishioners and non-parishioners alike.
The parish also offers adult formation for catechists. Level I formation for adults working with three- to six-year-olds takes place in two parts, with ninety hours of lectures, presentations, material making, and atrium observation across the two sessions, and successful participants receive a Level I Certificate from the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Faith Formation for Seventh and Eighth Grade
For seventh and eighth graders, St. Catherine runs a separate two-year rotation that combines scripture study in one year with Sacramental Preparation for Confirmation in the other, with Confirmation typically received at the end of eighth grade. The formation meets weekly in the early evening. Because the number of registrations has grown, the parish added a traditional (non-CGS) Wednesday evening formation class for grades four and five as well.
The Preschool at St. Catherine
The preschool has been a long-standing part of parish life at St. Catherine. The program offers classes for three-year-olds and four-year-olds (children must have turned the age by August 1 of the school year and must be able to use the bathroom independently). The school is open to both parishioners and non-parishioners, and the curriculum is play-based and developmentally appropriate, with weekly sessions of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd woven into the week along with time outdoors.
The preschool operates under a flexible schedule designed for working families. A full-day option runs Monday through Friday from 7:50 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., and parents pack a lunch. A half-day option runs Monday through Friday from 7:50 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for both three- and four-year-olds, and a three-day half-day program is offered for three-year-olds only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:50 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. A non-refundable $125 registration fee applies to all students, and tuition is paid through FACTS, the parish's tuition-management system. Limited tuition support is available through the parish for families in need.
The parish discontinued its K-8 elementary instruction in 2026, an arrangement that had been part of parish life for years. The preschool remains open and continues to operate as a parish ministry for three- and four-year-olds.
Pro-Life Ministry: Walking with Women from Pregnancy through Loss
The Pro-Life Committee of St. Catherine keeps the parish connected to a network of agencies and resources that support the dignity of the human person from natural conception until natural death. The committee coordinates pro-life education, fundraising, advocacy, and prayer, and is open to all parishioners. The work is laid out in four areas on the parish site.
For women facing an unplanned pregnancy, the committee keeps an updated list of local agencies. Pregnant Options of Northern Kentucky offers a twenty-four-hour helpline, free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, parenting classes, material assistance, and after-abortion care. Madonna House, in the spirit of Christian concern, supports single young women who have chosen to give birth and raise their children, helping them grow in independence. New Hope Center has been serving young women and men facing unplanned pregnancies for more than thirty years with testing, ultrasounds, healthcare, maternity and baby supplies, and after-abortion support. The Rose Garden Mission, run by the Fathers of Mercy, combines a Pregnancy Care Center, a no-questions-asked Food Pantry, a free primary care clinic, and a free Dental Clinic.
For women struggling with infertility, painful periods, PMS, or other reproductive health concerns, the parish highlights the work of St. Elizabeth Physicians' Natural Restorative Reproductive Health practice in Fort Thomas, which serves women of reproductive age from adolescence through menopause. The parish also promotes NaPro Technology, an approach to women's reproductive health and fertility care grounded in the diagnosis and treatment of underlying conditions. Educational resources include articles from The Catholic Telegraph and Catholic News Agency on NaPro Technology and on Church teaching about in vitro fertilization, and links to programs such as the Divine Mercy Nutritional Care practice of Rita Johnson, CFCP, NTP, and the FEMM women's health and reproductive education program.
For those who have experienced abortion, the parish directs them to Project Rachel, a confidential post-abortive ministry of the diocese that helps women and men work through the guilt and shame that often follows an abortion through reconciliation, spiritual direction, and peer ministry. For families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss, the parish offers support through faith: Masses, burial services, and spiritual guidance through the parish office, with Heaven's Gain Ministries cited as a resource for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of families after a pregnancy loss.
Spiritual Adoption: Nine Months of Prayer for a Baby at Risk
Alongside the practical work of the Pro-Life Committee, the parish keeps a long-running Spiritual Adoption program begun by the pastor, Father Stef Bankemper. The program encourages parishioners to pledge nine months of prayer for a baby at risk of being aborted and to learn about the development of the child in the womb along the way. Monthly prayers mark each stage of development, from the size of the child at conception through birth, and each prayer remembers both the child and the mother carrying the pregnancy.
As Father Stef explains, most people do not know the child and mother for whom they are praying, and that is all right; God knows who they are. The prayers use a placeholder name - Christopher - in quotation marks, so that anyone praying them knows they can insert any name, boy or girl, they choose. The monthly cycle includes reflections on the placenta, the first heartbeat, fingerprints, dreams, the first kicks, lung development, the baby's first cry, and the gratitude at birth.
Parish Councils, Committees, and the Rosary Prayer Group
The organizational life of the parish is held up by two advisory councils and a number of standing committees. The Parish Pastoral Council is the consultative and advisory body to the pastor and is composed of up to nine parishioners plus the pastor. The council serves as the vehicle for full parish participation in planning and monitoring pastoral activity and is governed by the directives of the bishop of the diocese. The Finance Council assists the pastor in planning, providing for, and supervising the parish resources, budget, and plant maintenance; develops the budget for approval by the Parish Pastoral Council; reviews the annual financial report; and must give consent before any unbudgeted expenditure over $5,000.
Terms on both councils last three years and begin in July, each council is organized by a chairperson, and meetings are typically held the same day each month. Members are expected to be active parishioners who can act both as a voice for their fellow parishioners and as a sounding board for the pastor. The two councils meet together as a Combined Committee at least once each quarter.
Other groups include the Pro-Life Committee, which coordinates the pro-life activities of the diocese at the parish level and supports agencies such as Madonna House and Care Net Pregnancy Center; and the Liturgy and Spiritual Life Committee, which exists to provide and encourage greater participation of the faithful in the liturgical life of the parish. The Rosary Prayer Group meets on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the church, immediately after the closing Benediction of the day's Eucharistic Adoration, gathering to kneel before the Lord and meditate on the mysteries of His life.
Becoming a Parishioner, Stewardship, and Summerfest
Active parishioners are those who have registered with the Parish Office, regularly participate in the weekend liturgy, invest their time, talent, and treasure in the parish through the annual Stewardship Pledge Drive, and hold the parish in their daily prayers. Newcomers interested in making St. Catherine their parish home are invited to contact the Parish Office.
The annual Stewardship Campaign frames the year as a call to faithful stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. The campaign is built around three practical asks: just do it with time, find a way to offer what the parishioner already does well as talent, and entrust first and best to God in treasure. Over the course of the year, the parish invites parishioners to set up recurring gifts, return a pledge card, and consider deepening their commitment.
Online giving is available through WeShare, with options for weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly pledges and one-time gifts. The parish is also enrolled in the Kroger Community Rewards program, which lets a portion of purchases made with a registered Kroger card be directed to St. Catherine.
Summerfest is the parish's annual festival, held in early June over two nights. Friday is an adult-only evening of live music, drinks, and an optional Italian buffet. Saturday is built around festival food, drinks, bounce houses, Kona Ice, and family games. Both nights run raffles, with a top major raffle prize of $5,000 and separate bourbon basket prizes for first, second, and third place. Sponsorship opportunities for families and businesses are part of the festival planning.
Witnesses, Homilies, and Weekly Bulletins
Father Stef Bankemper posts recordings of his homilies on the parish's YouTube homily channel, so parishioners can revisit a Sunday reflection during the week or catch up on a homily they missed. The parish also keeps an archive of faith witness talks given by parishioners during Mass. The collection includes testimony from named parishioners such as Dennis Hicks, Cathy Halloran, Judy Newberry, Doug Powrie, Maryanne Zeleznik, and others, ranging from short two-and-a-half-minute reflections to longer nine-minute stories. The archive is one of the parish's quieter but more distinctive offerings.
Weekly bulletins are posted online in PDF form and reach back for several years, giving newcomers an easy way to see the rhythm of announcements, ministries, and homily summaries.
The Patron Saint: Catherine of Siena
The parish takes its name from St. Catherine of Siena, one of the great figures of the later medieval Church. Catherine was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa on March 25, 1347, in Siena, Italy, the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children. Against her parents' wishes, she chose not to marry and became a Dominican tertiary. She began her religious life in solitude, prayer, and fasting, and then felt called to a more apostolic life, caring for the sick during the great famine of 1370 and the plague of 1374.
Later in life she went on preaching journeys, calling both lay people and clergy to simplicity and repentance. It was on one of these journeys that she is said to have received the stigmata, the wounds corresponding to those of Christ in his crucifixion, though they were visible only to herself. She became well known for her correspondence and her meetings with Pope Gregory XI at Avignon, where the pope had moved his court. She is often credited with encouraging the pope to return the papacy to Rome; the historical record suggests that he had already decided to do so, but was strengthened in the decision by her insistence.
In her last years, Catherine lived a life of severe penance and fasting and dictated her major work, The Dialogue, a series of mystical conversations she had with God. She suffered a stroke in 1380 and died a few days later on April 29, which is now her feast day. She was canonized in 1461, declared patron saint of Rome in 1866, declared patron of Italy (along with Francis of Assisi) in 1939, declared a Doctor of the Church along with Teresa of Avila by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and proclaimed by Pope John Paul II a patron saint of Europe along with five others on October 1, 1999. She is also the patron saint of journalists, the media, and nursing.
Office Hours, Address, and Contact
The parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and is closed on Fridays during the summer. The address is 1803 North Fort Thomas Avenue, Fort Thomas, KY 41075, the phone number is (859) 441-1352, and the general email is church@stcky.org. The pastor is Father Stef Bankemper; the deacon is Barry Henry. The parish is part of the Diocese of Covington, and falls within the wider Catholic life of the greater Cincinnati region.
Online giving is available through WeShare. Homily recordings are available on the parish's YouTube channel.