Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center

What Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center does

Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center is a Catholic parish within the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, founded in 1970 to serve the University of Kentucky community and the broader Lexington population. Its primary mission is campus ministry to UK students, faculty, and staff, supplemented by sacramental services, faith formation programs (OCIA for adult conversion, CCD for children, Adult Education), liturgical and music ministries, and social outreach services including emergency assistance through its Mercy Fund. The parish maintains a comprehensive service schedule with daily and weekend Masses, daily confession, and adoration, with student-tailored programming during UK fall and spring semesters.

The parish operates as a donation-dependent non-profit with no commercial revenue. It runs multiple structured giving programs including weekly offertory, the Catholic Wildcat Ambassadors monthly recurring giving program, the Be BOLD capital campaign (over $8M pledged for new building construction), the Mary Weber Bane Music Ministry Fund, the Mercy Fund, and a FreeWill-based Planned Giving program. A small CCD registration fee (suggested $40 per family, waivable) is the only programmatic fee. Technology infrastructure consists of the eCatholic website/church management platform, Flocknote for email, OSV Hub for online giving, and YouTube for live-streamed Masses.

The organization employs 13 paid staff plus FOCUS missionaries, led by Pastor Fr. Anthony McLaughlin, JCD. Its GTM motion is community-led, relying on student-to-student referrals, direct engagement by missionaries and campus ministers, GroupMe/Instagram outreach, and in-person events. Parent engagement runs through a Campus Ministry Semester Magazine and Parents Weekend. The parish is currently constructing a new building expected for substantial completion in Winter 2026/January 2027, representing the largest physical capacity expansion in its 50+ year history.

Name

Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center

Legal name

Holy Spirit Parish/Newman Center

Website

https://uknewman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center is a Catholic parish within the Diocese of Lexington that has served the University of Kentucky community since 1970, providing campus ministry, sacramental services, faith formation, and social outreach funded entirely through donations and capital campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catholic Parish and Campus Ministry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Catholic parish services
• Campus ministry
• Sacramental ministries
• Faith formation
• Newman Center

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Catholic Wildcat Ambassadors Monthly Giving: Recurring monthly donor program supporting campus ministry activities including retreats, Bible studies, student leadership, weekly dinners, and daily student opportunities
2. Be Bold Campaign: Capital campaign for new building construction; includes pledges that can be paid over 2 years, one-time gifts, appreciated stock, and IRA qualified charitable distributions
3. Mary Weber Bane Music Ministry Fund: Designated fund for supporting parish music ministry
4. Mercy Fund: Emergency assistance fund to help community members with housing, utilities, and meals
5. Planned Giving: Legacy giving program offering free estate planning tools (FreeWill) to parishioners
6. CCD Registration Fee: Religious education program fees for children; suggested $40 per family
7. Offertory/General Parish Donations: Regular weekly and special collection donations from parishioners supporting day-to-day parish operations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center is a Catholic parish combined with a Newman Center (Catholic campus ministry) that serves the University of Kentucky community. The organization provides Sunday and weekday Mass, the seven sacraments, faith formation programming, and pastoral outreach to both local parishioners and UK college students in Lexington, Kentucky.

Product overview

Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center is a Catholic parish and campus ministry serving the University of Kentucky community. The organization offers a unified portfolio of spiritual services centered around Mass celebrations and sacraments, supplemented by faith formation programs (OCIA, CCD, Adult Education), campus ministry (Catholic Wildcats), liturgical and music ministries, social outreach services, and various giving programs. The Be BOLD building campaign represents a major capital initiative for new facilities. The parish utilizes eCatholic for its website platform, Flocknote for communications, OSV Hub for online giving, and live-streams services via YouTube.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Be BOLD: Building campaign for new parish and Newman Center facilities serving the University of Kentucky
• Catholic Wildcat Ambassadors
• Mary Weber Bane Music Ministry Fund

Products and services

• Sunday and Weekday Mass
• Sacramental Preparation (Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick)
• Campus Ministry / Newman Center Programming
• Faith Formation and Religious Education
• Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students): FOCUS is the national Catholic collegiate evangelization organization supplying missionaries to Holy Spirit Parish (Erin Callahan, Katelynn Dinius). It is a direct peer in mission and operating model: forming disciples of Jesus on secular university campuses through missionaries, Bible studies, retreats, and leadership development, and is the parish's most strategic external partner.
• University of Kentucky (UK) Catholic Wildcats (under Diocese of Lexington): This refers to the broader UK Catholic student community served by the Diocese of Lexington. While Holy Spirit Parish is the primary Newman Center, the diocese supports related Catholic student touchpoints across campus that overlap in target audience and programming, making them direct peers in student ministry within the same geography.

Broad incumbents

• Diocese of Lexington: The Diocese of Lexington is the canonical parent and governance body for Holy Spirit Parish, overseeing all parishes and ministries in central and eastern Kentucky. It is a broad incumbent in the same Catholic ecosystem, providing diocesan-wide resources (e.g., FreeWill partnership for planned giving) and shaping the parish's strategic and capital decisions.
• Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA): CCMA is the national professional association for Catholic campus ministers across U.S. colleges and universities. It is a broad-incumbent peer/industry body representing the same professional discipline and serving as a convening, training, and advocacy layer above individual campus ministries like Holy Spirit Parish's Newman Center.
• Notre Dame Office of Campus Ministry: The University of Notre Dame's Office of Campus Ministry is a large, well-resourced Catholic campus ministry at a flagship Catholic university. It is a broad-incumbent peer in the same functional space (Catholic campus ministry, retreats, service, music ministry) but at far greater scale and embedded in a Catholic institutional context rather than a secular one.

Others

• Newman Connection: Newman Connection is a national nonprofit linking Catholic Newman Centers with incoming college students and providing resources to strengthen campus ministry. It is a thematically related peer addressing the same target market (Catholic students and Newman Centers) through complementary enabling services rather than direct campus operations.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Lexington: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Lexington runs social-service programs (housing, utilities, food assistance) that overlap with Holy Spirit Parish's Mercy Fund outreach. It is an adjacent enabling organization in the same Catholic ecosystem, operating related programs for the same vulnerable populations but at a larger, more institutionalized scale.
• OSV (Our Sunday Visitor) / OSV Hub: OSV is a Catholic publisher and software provider whose OSV Hub platform is used by Holy Spirit Parish for online giving. It is a vendor/ecosystem participant whose products and content shape how parishes communicate, give, and operate, rather than a direct peer in ministry.

Emerging players

• Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): Cru is one of the largest interdenominational college ministry organizations in the U.S., running student-led Bible studies, missions trips, and leadership programs on hundreds of secular campuses. It is an emerging player in the broader campus ministry category with overlapping mission (discipleship of college students) but a different theological tradition.
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: InterVarsity is a major evangelical campus ministry with chapters at most U.S. universities, including UK, running small groups, Bible studies, and conferences. It overlaps with Holy Spirit Parish in targeting the same student demographic for faith formation on the same secular campus, but from a different Christian tradition.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZCNv6PnFvZbnTr6TpCEEUw
• Facebookfacebook.com/catholicwildcats
• Instagraminstagram.com/catholicwildcats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holy Spirit Parish/UK Newman Center