About Assumption · Dwight, Nebraska
Assumption Catholic Church (formally the Catholic Congregation of St. Mary of the Assumption) is a small historic parish in Dwight, Nebraska, in the rural Czech Catholic heartland of Butler County. Founded in the 1890s by Czech settlers and built up through the early twentieth century, the parish is best known for its 1914 Gothic Revival brick church and the elaborate grottoes and shrines on its grounds, including a tiny chapel that seats just four people. Today the parish is served by Father Raymond Jansen and is part of the Diocese of Lincoln's David City Deanery, sharing pastoral care with the mission church of St. Wenceslaus in nearby Bee.
- Established
- 1895
- Patron
- St. Mary of the Assumption (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Raymond Jansen
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lincoln
Why belong here
Assumption is the spiritual heart of a small, tight-knit Butler County farming community with deep Czech Catholic roots going back to the 1890s. Parishioners gather around daily and weekend Masses, an active Altar Society that supports Catholic Social Services, Birthright, St. Gianna House, the LDCCW diaper drive, and the seniors of Dwight and David City, plus seasonal parish fundraisers like the spring Soup Supper, the July Pork and Dumpling Dinner, and the fall Soup Dinner and Boutique. If you are looking for a welcoming country parish with daily Mass, rich devotion to Our Lady, and the chance to pray in one of Nebraska's most beautiful historic churchyards, Assumption is well worth a visit.
Mass times at Assumption
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (30 minutes before Mass)
- Sunday: 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (30 minutes before Mass)
History of the Parish
Catholic life in the Dwight area began with Czech settlers in the late 1800s who had to travel nine miles to Brainard for Mass. On January 1, 1896 about thirty-five Catholic families organized themselves into the Catholic Congregation of St. Mary of the Assumption, celebrated their first parish Mass on March 1, 1896 in the Dwight Public School with Father A. J. Klein, and dedicated their first frame church (built by Frank Sobotka on land donated by the Chicago & North Western Railroad) on September 8, 1899. By 1910 the parish had eighty families; a new, much larger brick church was begun in 1914 and dedicated on September 22, 1915.
- 1895 — area Catholics organize; cemetery need identified
- March 1, 1896 — first parish Mass, Dwight Public School
- September 8, 1899 — first church blessed
- 1910 — becomes an independent parish under resident pastor
- 1914–1915 — present Gothic Revival brick church built
- 1921 — Catholic school opens
- 1934 — grottoes and shrines dedicated by Bishop Louis Kucera
- 1962 — parish high school consolidated with Aquinas Central
- 1974 — grade school closes (Notre Dame Sisters withdraw)
- 1996 — original parish hall collapses in storm
- 1999 — new parish hall built
- 2008 — church, school, and grottoes listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Czech Catholic Heritage
Dwight lies in the flat plains of southwestern Butler County, agricultural land that in the late 1800s attracted a large concentration of Czech settlers. The community was almost entirely Catholic, which is why the parish was able so confidently to fund and staff a Catholic school. Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and to St. Wenceslaus (also the patron of the parish's mission church in Bee) reflects this Central European Catholic identity, and the parish's Czech roots remain visible today in the Assumption church's tiled ceramic Stations of the Cross and seasonal Czech-American traditions.
The Church Building (Architecture)
The present church is a 1914 Gothic Revival building, designed by Omaha architect J. M. Nachtigal and constructed for $18,076.38 by Henry Olson of Loup City. It is generally rectangular in plan (about 155 by 43 feet) on a concrete-block foundation, with walls of yellow glazed brick, engaged buttresses, an apse flanked by two small rooms, and an asphalt-shingle gabled roof. The front facade is dominated by a central bell tower under a high recessed Gothic arch, with an arched stained-glass window below and paired Gothic arched stained-glass windows above, plus a small roundel window in stained glass. A broached spire carries a four-faced clock (illuminated at night) that strikes every half hour.
- Style: Gothic Revival / Late 19th- and early-20th-Century Revival Gothic
- Dedicated: September 22, 1915
- Architect: J. M. Nachtigal (Omaha)
- Builder: Henry Olson (Loup City)
- Cost: $18,076.38 (building) / $30,000 (with furnishings)
- Stained-glass windows: 12, donated by individual families at $1,023 total
- Saints depicted: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Cecilia, St. Wenceslaus, St. John the Baptist, St. John Vianney, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joseph, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. John the Evangelist, St. George
- Bell: came from the Methodist church of the defunct town of Ware, NE (1895–1903)
The Grottoes, Shrines, and Tiny Chapel
The Assumption grounds are famous for the elaborate grotto complex built between 1910 and 1936 and dedicated on October 28, 1934 by Bishop Louis Kucera. Designed by Father Benedict Bauer, O.S.B. (pastor 1931–1943) and constructed by parish men using 175 tons of stone carried by nearly every family in the parish, the grottoes include the Mother of Grace (a Carrara-marble statue on a red-granite pedestal), the Grotto of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and a tiny nine-by-ten-foot chapel built of varied colored brick that seats only four people. The chapel holds an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that was blessed by Pope Pius XI, white marble and onyx columns, and a glass reliquary containing a remarkable statue of St. Cecilia wearing actual garments and human hair donated by parishioners.
- Mother of Grace — Carrara marble on red-granite pedestal, central figure of the garden
- Three-fountain pool in front of Mother of Grace — fountains symbolize the Trinity
- Tiny Chapel — 9 x 10 feet, seats four; described as one of the smallest complete and functional churches in the world
- Relic statue of St. Cecilia — replica of Stefano Maderno's statue in Rome, with real garments and human hair
- Grotto of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
- Shrine of St. Jude the Apostle (holding medallion of Christ)
- Statue pair symbolizing faithful marriage (one mate died, the other remained faithful)
- Blessed and dedicated October 28, 1934 by Bishop Louis Kucera
Sacraments and Devotions
The parish prepares parishioners for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick; information and preparation are coordinated through the parish office at 402-566-2765. The Assumption church building itself functions as one of the parish's most distinctive devotions, with the grotto gardens and tiny chapel providing a place for Eucharistic and Marian prayer in addition to the church's regular worship.
Parish School and Religious Education
Parishioners pledged $20,000 in 1920 to build a Catholic school, which opened in 1921 staffed largely by the Notre Dame Sisters. It grew to include a high school and served 5,846 grade-school students and 432 high-school graduates before the high school was consolidated with Aquinas Central Catholic School near David City in 1962 by Bishop James V. Casey, and the grade school closed in 1974 when the Notre Dame Sisters withdrew. Today religious education for parish children is offered through a CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) program coordinated through the parish office.
Altar Society and Parish Life
The parish's active Altar Society is a hub of community life. Members serve seniors in Dwight and at David City nursing homes through Bingo, raise money for Catholic Social Services, St. Gianna House, Birthright, and the LDCCW Annual Diaper Drive in October by sewing baby quilts, and host three major parish fundraisers each year. Assumption was chosen as a 2026 Lincoln Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (LDCCW) Featured Parish.
- Soup Supper (spring)
- Pork and Dumpling Dinner (July)
- Soup Dinner and Boutique (fall)
- Baby quilts donated to Birthright, Catholic Social Services, and St. Gianna House
- Diaper drive participation in October (LDCCW Annual Diaper Drive)
- Bingo with seniors in Dwight and at nursing homes in David City
- Community Spaghetti Feed and craft fair (recent fundraiser for church repairs)
Mission: St. Wenceslaus, Bee
Within the Diocese of Lincoln's David City Deanery, Assumption shares pastoral care with St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in nearby Bee. Both communities trace their roots to the same wave of Czech Catholic settlement in southwestern Butler County, and the patron saint of the mission — St. Wenceslaus — is also honored in one of the Assumption church's twelve stained-glass windows.
Visiting the Grottoes and Grounds
The grotto gardens, shrines, old school building, and statues are open to visitors year-round and remain a popular pilgrimage and tourist stop in Butler County, especially around the Assumption's August feast. The parish welcomes outside visitors and regularly hosts community gatherings like the recent spaghetti feed and craft fair that draw dozens of vendors and hundreds of guests.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father A. J. Klein1896–c.1910+
Founding pastor who celebrated the first Mass on March 1, 1896 at the Dwight Public School and built the first frame church (1899). Served Dwight initially while also pastoring Brainard; assigned as the parish's first resident priest in 1910.
- Father Michael Pazourekafter 1918
Urged the parish to build a Catholic school after the church debt was paid off; led the 1920 fundraising campaign that produced $20,000 in pledges.
- Father Benedict Bauer, O.S.B.1931–1943
Designed the grottoes and shrines as a personal vow to the Mother of God; oversaw construction by the men of the parish and the dedication by Bishop Louis Kucera on October 28, 1934.