About Holy Angels · Basehor, Kansas
Holy Angels Catholic Church is a historic parish of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, serving the Basehor community in Leavenworth County, Kansas, since 1866. Originally organized by Rev. Aloysius Laigneil, S.J., for Catholic families in the pioneer community of Hoge, the parish has relocated twice — most recently to its present site in Basehor — while keeping its original patron of the Holy Angels. Today the parish worships in a church built in 2010, maintains a parish cemetery that dates to 1861, and serves well over 150 families through daily and weekly Mass, the sacraments, faith formation, and active outreach.
- Established
- 1866
- Patron
- Holy Angels
- Rector
- Paul Rittof (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
Why belong here
Holy Angels is a parish rooted in deep local history — one of the oldest congregations in Leavenworth County — yet it is small enough that parishioners know one another by name. With daily Mass Monday through Friday, a Saturday vigil and two Sunday Masses, a regular Saturday confession window, Eucharistic Adoration, an annual Memorial Day Mass at the historic cemetery, the Totus Tuus summer program, and an active Knights of Columbus council, the parish offers the full rhythm of Catholic life on a welcoming 30-acre campus in Basehor.
Mass times at Holy Angels
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:45 PM – 4:15 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration (see parish adoration website; listed by the parish)
History of Holy Angels Catholic Church
Holy Angels was organized in 1866 at the Hoge settlement by Rev. Aloysius Laigneil, S.J., who resided at the Cathedral in Leavenworth. Catholic families had been served for years before that by priests riding in from Leavenworth to say Mass in private homes — Mass was offered only four or five times a year in houses like the Ryan/Houston home and the Donnelly home. Around fifteen or sixteen families founded the congregation; their descendants — Sheehan, Howard, Larkin, Doege, Swann, O'Sullivan, McCormick, Klamet, Donovan and others — joined in subsequent decades. A full succession of pastors (Laigneil, Butler, Perrier, Leary, Browne, Towmey, O'Farrell, Williams, Schwalm, Grosdidier, Quinlan, Goens) shepherded the parish through fires, debt, relocation, and growth, and a parish retrospective written for the parish notes 'well over 150 families' active in its 120th anniversary year.
- 1866 — congregation organized at Hoge by Rev. Aloysius Laigneil, S.J.
- c.1860/1878 — 10-acre cemetery deeded to Bishop John B. Meige by the Kansas Pacific Railroad
- 1911 — Rev. Jerome Towmey begins pastorate
- 1913–1914 — sandstone church replaced with Gothic brick church; renamed St. Patrick
- Dec. 28, 1923 — church and rectory destroyed by fire
- Sept. 20, 1925 — Fr. Patrick C.J. Williams arrives
- Jan. 1961 — old church razed
- Sept. 30, 1962 — new church dedicated in Basehor; name restored to Holy Angels
- 1982 — church remodeled under Fr. Quinlan
- Dec. 9, 1984 — Fr. Quinlan Hall dedicated by Archbishop Ignatius Strecker
- 2010 — current church edifice built in Basehor
The Hoge Years and the Move to Basehor
The first Catholic church stood near the pioneer community of Hoge, two miles south of Hoge Station and three miles west of Basehor, which by then was establishing itself as a stronger community on the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western Railroad line. After decades of repairing the 1914 brick church, the parish chose to rebuild on a 30-acre tract in Basehor (one block east of the old site, then three miles east of the original Hoge location), and on September 30, 1962, the name was changed back to the parish's original invocation — the Church of the Holy Angels.
- First church placed under the invocation of the Holy Angels (1866)
- Mrs. Mary Jane Donnelly instrumental in establishing the church near the cemetery site
- Cost of the 1962 Basehor church: $136,000
Holy Angels Cemetery
The parish's cemetery, located at 20551 179th Street, Tonganoxie, KS 66086 (about two miles south of Hoge Station and three miles west of Basehor), was in existence before the parish itself. Ten acres were deeded to Bishop John B. Meige by the Kansas Pacific Railroad around 1860 and the deed recorded in 1878. The first burial was in 1861. The cemetery has remained an unbroken link to the parish's pioneer roots — Father John J. Quinlan, who died Dec. 12, 1983, chose to be interred there because of his love for the parish. A Memorial Day Mass (9:00 AM) is celebrated at the cemetery each year, with the Little Church serving as the alternate site in bad weather.
- Also known as: Basehor Holy Angeles Cemetery, Hoge Cemetery
- Cemetery Association maintains the grounds
- Memorial Day Mass held at the cemetery annually
Parish Life, Ministries and Stewardship
Active parish life at Holy Angels includes a Knights of Columbus council that meets in the parish hall (originally built in 1946 as the parish hall and now called the Knights of Columbus Hall), summer youth catechesis through the Totus Tuus program (with online registration forms published on the parish site), online giving, and a parish-wide Holy Angels Monthly Cleaning Schedule coordinated through SignUpGenius.
- Knights of Columbus Council
- Totus Tuus summer program
- Online Giving via the parish website
- Monthly cleaning volunteer rotation (SignUpGenius)
- RCYC referenced on the Archdiocese page
- Eucharistic Adoration
Contact and Visiting
The parish office and rectory sit on Leavenworth Road in Basehor, roughly 1.8 miles west of K-7 and about three miles north of Interstate 70. The historic Holy Angels Cemetery is a separate site at 20551 179th Street, Tonganoxie, KS 66086. Inquiries about sacraments, Mass intentions, and parish enrollment can be directed to the parish office by phone, fax, or email.
- Rectory: 15440 Leavenworth Rd., Basehor, KS 66007 — 913-724-3122
- Office: 15438 Leavenworth Rd., Basehor, KS 66007 — 913-724-1665 (fax 913-724-4148)
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.HolyAngelsBasehor.org
- Holy Angels Cemetery: 20551 179th St., Tonganoxie, KS 66086
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Aloysius Laigneil, S.J.1866
Organized the congregation at Hoge; resided at the Cathedral in Leavenworth.
- Rev. Ambrose Butler1867
Succeeded Laigneil; replaced before end of 1867.
- Rev. Joseph Perrier1867–c.1871
Remained four years; later made a monsignor of the Diocese of Concordia; died Dec. 31, 1917.
- Rev. John F. Leary
Began the addition to the first church; east side torn out to permit the addition.
- Rev. Michael Browne
Said by some to have completed the addition begun by Fr. Leary.
- Rev. Jerome Towmey1911–1922
Built the Gothic brick church; cornerstone July 1, 1913; first Mass Christmas Day 1913; dedicated to St. Patrick on March 17, 1914; removed in 1922.
- Rev. O'Farrell1922
Succeeded Fr. Towmey; previously pastor of the Cathedral parish in Leavenworth.
- Rev. Patrick C.J. Williamsfrom Sept. 20, 1925
Rebuilt after the 1923 fire; worked down the parish debt.
- Rev. Schwalmleft 1971
Departed Holy Angels in 1971.
- Rev. J.J. Grosdidierleft Feb. 1975
Departed due to illness; resided at Brothers of Mercy in Kansas City, MO, until his death Nov. 26, 1976.
- Rev. Mr. Davoren (Saviour of the World Seminary)1975
Supplied the pulpit until Fr. Quinlan's appointment.
- Rev. John J. QuinlanSept. 1975 – Dec. 12, 1983
Vicar General and Assistant to the Archbishop; died Dec. 12, 1983; buried at Holy Angels Cemetery by his own choice.
- Rev. Donald Goensfrom Feb. 1984
Saw the new parish hall (Fr. Quinlan Hall) to completion; dedicated Dec. 9, 1984 by Archbishop Ignatius Strecker.