Rev. Michael Hendershott, S.T.L.

Father Michael Hendershott was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, and he grew up in Farragut with his five sisters and two brothers. St. John Neumann Catholic Church was his home parish. In the Fall of 2007, he entered the seminary for the Diocese of Knoxville. The then-Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz sent him to study philosophy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After four years of college seminary, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

Then Bishop Richard F. Stika sent him to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis for one year of theology and then to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy for four more years of theology school. In June 2014, he completed a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) and then in June 2016 he completed a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) with a specialization in Dogmatic Theology at The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum).

Father Michael Hendershott was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ on the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, June 27, 2015. He has been blessed to serve for some time at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, for four years as a teacher and chaplain at Knoxville Catholic High School, and for over seven years as a Parochial Vicar at Holy Ghost in Knoxville. 

Father Hendershott began his assignment as the Parochial Vicar of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Chattanooga on February 12, 2024. He has also been assigned as the Chaplain of the Catholic Student Center at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 





Photos of Fr. Hendershott's ministry at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, compliments of Jim Richmond. 




View photos of Fr. Hendershott's farewell at Holy Ghost parish here