The only Catholic parish in Elizabethton
Tucked into the corner of West C Street and Eisenhower Street in Elizabethton, Tennessee, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Parish is the only Catholic church in the city and the spiritual home of roughly 237 families. The parish has been part of the Diocese of Knoxville for as long as anyone now living can remember, and it carries the name of a thirteenth-century Hungarian princess known for her charity and care of the poor.
The church building was dedicated on May 15, 1949, and the structure itself tells the story of a parish that has grown with its town. The sanctuary sits on the upper floor, with a basement that is now used as a parish hall. In 1993 a two-story education building was added on the east side of the church, giving the parish room for classrooms, meetings, and social gatherings.
Mass in English and Spanish
St. Elizabeth keeps a steady rhythm of weekday and Sunday worship. The Saturday Vigil is celebrated at 5:00 pm in English, and a second Vigil in Spanish follows at 7:00 pm under the name Parroquia Santa Isabel. Sunday morning brings the main parish Mass at 9:00 am. During the week, Mass is offered on Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 am, and on Wednesday at 12:00 noon.
Confessions are heard on Saturday from 4:15 to 4:45 pm, on Saturday from 6:30 to 6:50 pm for the Spanish-speaking community, and on Sunday from 8:15 to 8:45 am, or by appointment.
Each Thursday evening the church is open for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the sanctuary from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. Parishioners are invited to sign up for hourly intervals of prayer before the Eucharist.
For those who are sick or homebound, Mass is livestreamed on YouTube under the channel name SEoH Live Streaming.
A welcoming and multicultural parish
Father Jesus Guerrero, the pastor, is originally from Mexico. After graduating from the Instituto Tecnologico de Leon, he came to San Antonio in 2003 and entered Assumption Seminary in 2005. He continued his formation at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, spent time as a missionary in Russia, joined the Diocese of Knoxville in 2011, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 27, 2015. The parish mission statement reflects his own story: to foster a welcoming and multicultural parish, grounded in the Catholic Catechism and sacraments, to inspire the creation of disciples of Christ willing to serve others and grow the Catholic faith in the region.
Father Joseph Austin serves as Parochial Vicar, a part-time assignment that also makes him part-time campus minister at East Tennessee State University. Born in Alabama and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee, Father Joe studied computer science at Franciscan University of Steubenville and completed his seminary formation at Saint Meinrad before his ordination in 2023. He resides at the St. Elizabeth rectory.
Two deacons, Rich Carner and Mike Gray, assist the priests with Mass, weddings, and pastoral visits. Judy Holt directs religious education, and Vicki Johnson leads the youth ministry for students in grades 6 through 12.
Faith formation for every age
St. Elizabeth makes a point of walking with parishioners at every stage of life. The Parish School of Religion meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, September through May, for children from preschool through twelfth grade. Older students preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation work alongside the younger ones in the same program.
Two adult Bible study groups meet after the 9:00 am Sunday Mass. The Emmaus Bible Study is open to anyone who wants to dig into the readings of the day. Deacon Rich Carner leads a second group that ranges across Bible study, book study, and apologetics. Additional Bible studies are offered during Lent. The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) welcomes inquirers who want to become Catholic.
Children in second grade and older prepare for First Holy Communion, and the parish celebrates the sacrament together as a family event each spring.
Parroquia Santa Isabel, the Spanish-speaking community
Spanish-speaking Catholics in the region have a home at St. Elizabeth through Parroquia Santa Isabel. The Spanish-language Vigil Mass is celebrated on Saturday at 7:00 pm, with confessions beforehand from 6:30 to 6:50 pm. Parish bulletins, announcements, and ministry information are available in Spanish for Spanish-speaking parishioners and visitors.
Serving neighbors near and far
Social ministry is woven into the life of the parish. The Backpack Buddies program sends food home with children on weekends who might otherwise go hungry. Each Advent, the Angel Tree provides Christmas gifts for needy children. In late spring the parish runs a Baby Bottle project to support women and children in need, and several canned food drives are held throughout the year. A small group of parishioners visits inmates at the Northeast Tennessee Correctional Center in Mountain City, and Fr. Jesus continues an ongoing drive to collect home medical equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, bathroom safety bars, blood pressure testers, medical beds, and diabetes testing supplies) for shipment to those in need in Mexico.
Free Bibles and Catholic books are available on the ground floor near the Knights of Columbus room, and parishioners are invited to take what they need.
Knights of Columbus Council 10743
Council 10743 of the Knights of Columbus meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm. The council runs the annual ARM Canned Food Drive during Advent, supports KIND Charities of TN, partners with the Pregnancy Support Center of Johnson County, and has obtained grants for local schools. Council members also serve the parish by helping with buildings and grounds maintenance. Aluminum cans collected in the bin behind the garage fund the needy and seminarians. The council motto is simply: Where there is a need there is a Knight.
Grand Knight Thomas Mitalski and his council work closely with the parish and with Council 1840 of the Fourth Degree Assembly.
Women, men, and the Evangelization Team
The Ladies Guild gathers on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in the church basement for crafts and fellowship. Abundant Life, a women's group, meets on the third Wednesday of each month for faith, community, and social action. The Evangelization Team (E-Team), co-led by Nick Johnson and Cathy Champon, meets on the first Saturday of each month from 2:30 to 4:00 pm in the church basement, and hosts a parish social on the first weekend of every month.
Within Mass, parishioners serve as greeters, readers, extraordinary Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, and musicians. John Henkelman directs the music program. Communion is brought to the homebound and to parishioners in nursing homes by a small group of volunteers.
Reaching out, even in a small town
Parishioners and family members are asked to notify the church office directly if a loved one is hospitalized, since privacy rules no longer allow hospitals to share that information with a pastor. Communion visits, hospital visits, and bereavement support are coordinated through the office and through Deacon Rich.
The parish uses both the MyParish App and Facebook to stay in touch, and the church building offers guest Wi-Fi (password Pr@yRos@ry2025) for visitors and parishioners who need to get online.
Joining the parish
New parishioners are warmly welcomed. A registration form is available for download, can be filled out at home, and either placed in the weekend collection basket or mailed to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Parish, PO Box 7, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Online giving is available through the parish's WeShare account, and one-time or recurring donations can be set up in a few minutes.
The parish office can be reached at (423) 543-3412 or by email at secretary@stelizabethsparish.com. Visitors are welcome to join any of the parish's Masses, Bible studies, or social events, and to step into a small but lively Catholic community that has been praying on West C Street since 1949.