Fr. Elisha Durbin, a priest with missionary zeal who ministered throughout western Kentucky, first began gathering Catholics in Paducah in 1848. These first Masses were held in the home of John Grief, located on the south side of Kentucky Avenue west of 6th Street.

Property for the church was purchased on May 8, 1848 from Thomas Brandon for $225. The first church, built of brick with a unique blue limestone foundation, was erected by parishioners in 1849 and sat well back from Broadway. It was surrounded by a high fence so that livestock could roam freely on the grounds.

A second, much larger church was built in 1870 under the direction of the pastor, Fr. Ivo Schacht. This church, also built of brick, was much nearer Broadway. Part of the old church was converted into a rectory for the use of the Carmelite priests who then served the parish.

The cornerstone of the present church was laid on June 5, 1899, and the church was dedicated on May 13, 1900. It was built of pitchedface, buffbrick with Bedford stone trimmings, and its style suggests Italian Renaissance with two domed bell towers. While construction was underway, Mass was celebrated in Lehrer’s Hall over a grocery store on the southwest corner of Seventh Street and Kentucky Avenue. The Pastor at this time was Fr. H. W. Jansen. The cost of the construction was $35,000.

The mural above the altar, representing the Ascension, was painted by Leo Mirabile, a native of Sicily, in 1936. In 1949 he returned to repaint the mural and to add portraits of ten saints to the overhead walls. In 1984, the tabernacle was removed from the high altar and a Eucharistic Chapel was built. The altar we currently use was donated by St. Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, Kentucky, in 1987. The baptismal pool was constructed and new lighting installed in the church in 1997. In 2004, a new Parish Hall was completed. 

The parishes of St. Thomas More (1943) and Rosary Chapel (1947) were founded from St. Francis de Sales.