About Our Lady of Perpetual Help · Kansas City, Missouri
Our Lady of Perpetual Help — widely known across Kansas City simply as "Redemptorist" — is a Roman Catholic parish in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, staffed since 1878 by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). The parish was canonically founded in 1888 on the hill between the old frontier towns of Westport and Kansas City, where the Redemptorist missionaries had built their mission house a decade earlier. Today the parish serves the faithful through daily and Sunday Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, ongoing faith formation, and a campus that includes Cristo Rey Kansas City High School, the Redemptorist Social Services Center (founded 1986), and the Redemptorist Senior Center.
- Established
- 1888
- Patron
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Rector
- Rev. Don Willard, C.Ss.R.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph
Why belong here
Our Lady of Perpetual Help offers the fullness of Catholic parish life in the heart of midtown Kansas City: multiple Sunday Masses with a celebrated choir, daily Mass Monday through Saturday, the weekly Tuesday Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the parish's titular devotion), robust faith formation for grades 1–12, a thriving young-adult community, and the security of being part of a Redemptorist parish — a community whose charism is to reach out especially to the poor and most abandoned. The same campus houses Cristo Rey Kansas City High School, the Redemptorist Social Services Center, and the Redemptorist Senior Center, which means members are plugged into ministries that serve the elderly, the working poor, and families in need across the metro.
Mass times at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Weekdays: one half hour immediately following all weekday Masses
- Tuesday: after the 5:30 PM Mass
- Saturday: 3:00–5:00 PM
- Saturday: 7:30–8:00 PM
- No confessions on Sundays or holy days
Adoration times
- Young Adult F.I.A.T. (Friends in Adoration Together) Holy Hour — second Tuesday of the month, Adoration begins at 6:15 PM in the Garden Room
Parish History
The Redemptorist priests came to the area between the frontier towns of Westport and Kansas City in 1878 as traveling missionaries, building a mission house on a hill above verdant meadows. As Catholic neighbors began joining their chapel, the priests were invited to found a parish; in 1888, Our Lady of Perpetual Help was canonically established on the mission-house grounds. The current church — French Gothic with Carrara marble altars and stained glass — was extensively renovated in 2000 and refreshed at the parish's 100th anniversary in 2012. Despite its official title, the parish is still known across Kansas City simply as 'Redemptorist.'
- 1878 — Redemptorists arrive as missionaries and build the mission house
- 1888 — Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is canonically founded
- 2000 — Major renovation of the current church
- 2012 — Refresh for the 100th anniversary
Clergy & Staff
The parish has been staffed continuously by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists, C.Ss.R.) since 1878. Day-to-day parish leadership and operations are carried out by a clergy team and a parish office that handles formation, music, weddings, social services, and senior programming.
- Rev. Don Willard, C.Ss.R. — Pastor (ext. 237, [email protected])
- Rev. John Son Tran, C.Ss.R. — Associate Pastor (ext. 225)
- Kurtis Marinez — Business Manager (ext. 226)
- Pat McDonald — Office Manager (ext. 221)
- Sylvia Heskett — Receptionist (ext. 222)
- Edith Montes-Jankowski — Pastoral Associate / Faith Formation (ext. 256)
- Spencer Huston, PhD — Director of Music (913.406.9018)
- Julia Heekyung Choi, DMA — Music Coordinator (ext. 227)
- Barbara Cosgrove — Wedding Coordinator (816.820.1826)
- Julie McCaw — Director, Redemptorist Social Services Center (816.931.9942)
- Kim Cline — Redemptorist Senior Center (816.561.3771)
Faith Formation & OCIA
The parish runs two parallel formation tracks: a Discipleship Faith Formation program for grades 1–12 (held Sundays at 10:30 AM in the Garden Room), and OCIA — the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults — for adults and children coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. Sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation follows the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph's curriculum and a two-year Confirmation track called 'The Way.'
- Discipleship Faith Formation (Grades 1–12) — Sundays 10:30 AM, Garden Room
- OCIA — Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (weekly classes)
- OCIC — Order of Christian Initiation for Children
- Confirmation Year 1 (grades 5–11) and Confirmation Year 2 (grades 6–12)
- First Reconciliation & First Communion (grades 1–2, two-year prep)
- Pastoral Associate: Edith Montes-Jankowski ([email protected])
- OCIA Director: Jim Stanley; Pastor: Rev. Don Willard, C.Ss.R.
Perpetual Help Young Adults
The parish's young-adult community (20s and 30s) gathers around a Catholic fellowship model with the motto 'To Jesus through Mary.' Members staff the quarterly Sunday 5:00 PM Mass as lectors, cantors, ushers, and Eucharistic ministers, then meet for dinner and a guest-speaker conversation. The community also supports small groups, retreats, mission trips, and service projects.
- F.A.M. — Fellowship After Mass (fourth Tuesday, 6:15 PM, Garden Room)
- Koinonia — Christian fellowship small groups (third Tuesday, 6:15 PM)
- YA-E — Young Adult Encounters (first Tuesday, with Mass, Perpetual Help Devotion, and formation)
- F.I.A.T. — Friends in Adoration Together (second Tuesday, monthly Holy Hour at 6:15 PM)
- Contact: [email protected]
- Instagram: @youngadultsolphkc
On-Campus Ministries
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is the institutional home for several ministries that extend the parish's reach across Kansas City: a college-prep high school for students with economic need, a long-running social services agency for the poor and elderly, and an active senior center. Together they embody the Redemptorist charism of caring for 'the poor and most abandoned.'
- Cristo Rey Kansas City High School — Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth corporate work-study Catholic college-prep
- Redemptorist Social Services Center — emergency assistance, senior services, legal aid, and health programs since 1986 (Director: Julie McCaw, 816.931.9942)
- Redemptorist Senior Center — Thursday Pokeno and Lunch (11:00 AM) and Bingo (1:00 PM); contact Kim Cline
Sacraments
The parish celebrates the full range of Catholic sacraments. Baptisms are typically scheduled individually on Sundays after the 9:30 or 11:30 AM Mass, with a required baptism class on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM. The church's beauty and 800-seat capacity make it one of the diocese's most sought-after wedding venues — couples must contact the parish 6–9 months in advance. Quinceañera Masses are also accommodated for young ladies confirmed or enrolled in confirmation prep.
- Baptism — Sundays after 9:30 or 11:30 AM; class second Tuesday at 5:30 PM
- First Holy Communion & First Reconciliation — through Discipleship Faith Formation
- Confirmation — two-year 'The Way' process, grades 5–6
- Eucharist (Mass) — full schedule above
- Confession (Reconciliation) — daily after weekday Masses, Saturday afternoons and evenings
- Anointing of the Sick — by appointment through the parish office
- Marriage — Saturdays at 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM, or 6:30 PM; wedding rehearsals the evening before
- Quinceañera — contact the parish office to schedule
Music & Liturgy
Liturgical music is led by a small professional team. The 9:30 AM Sunday Mass is sung by the parish choir; the parish also publishes Sunday 5:00 PM Mass sung by an ensemble (per parish bulletin). Music planning is coordinated between a Director of Music and a Music Coordinator, who oversee cantors, the choir, and accompanists for the parish's many Masses and the Tuesday Novena.
- Director of Music: Spencer Huston, PhD (913.406.9018)
- Music Coordinator: Julia Heekyung Choi, DMA (ext. 227, [email protected])
- Sunday 9:30 AM Mass — parish choir
- Young Adults staff the quarterly Sunday 5:00 PM Mass as lectors, cantors, ushers, and Eucharistic ministers
Parish Life & Events
Beyond Mass and formation, the parish runs a steady calendar of community events, headlined by the annual Parish Festival on the North Lawn and the Parish Rummage Sale in the Garden Room. The Parish Council (President: Brian Wood) meets the second Wednesday of each month at 6:15 PM and is open to all parishioners; the Finance Council is chaired by Frank Uryasz.
- Parish Festival — annual, North Lawn
- Parish Rummage Sale — Garden Room
- Parish Council — meets second Wednesday at 6:15 PM
- Parish Council President: Brian Wood
- Finance Council Chairman: Frank Uryasz
- Wedding Coordinator: Barbara Cosgrove (816.820.1826)
Visit, Contact & Directions
The parish office is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Visitors are encouraged to come for any weekday Mass, stay for the Tuesday Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, or join the Sunday 9:30 AM choir Mass.
- Address: 3333 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64111
- Phone: 816.561.3771
- Fax: 816.561.3704
- Email: [email protected]
- Office Hours: Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
- Website: redemptoristkc.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/redemptoristkc
- Young-Adult Instagram: @youngadultsolphkc
- Diocese: kcsjcatholic.org