About Sacred Heart · Cunningham, Kansas
Sacred Heart is a small Catholic parish in the rural farming community of Cunningham, Kansas (Kingman County), serving 57 registered families and approximately 109 individual Catholics. It is one of four mission parishes — together known as 'Our Four Parishes' (along with St. Leo, St. Peter of Willowdale, and St. John of Zenda) — that share a single pastor, Reverend Daryl W. Befort, and an integrated cluster of lay staff. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Wichita and offers Holy Mass on a rotating weekend schedule with a regular Thursday morning Mass.
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Reverend Daryl W. Befort
- Diocese
- Diocese of Wichita
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a welcoming rural parish where every Mass gathers a close-knit Catholic farming community under the pastoral care of Fr. Daryl Befort, who serves all four local parishes together. Weekend Mass is celebrated on a rotating schedule across the cluster, with confessions available 20 minutes before each Mass and a steady Thursday morning Mass offered at the parish. Parishioners also have ready access to the cluster's lay ministers, secretaries, and cemetery contacts, making it easy to plug into the sacramental and community life of the area.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 20 minutes prior to all weekday Masses; 30 minutes prior to early weekend Masses; 30 minutes following late weekend Masses (cluster-wide policy)
- Thursday 7:30 AM – 8:00 AM
Parish Identity and Location
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a small rural parish located at 404 East First Street in Cunningham, Kansas (ZIP 67035), in Kingman County. First Street in Cunningham is Highway 54, which makes the parish easy to find for travelers crossing south-central Kansas. The parish is registered with the Diocese of Wichita and is one of the smallest parishes in the diocese in terms of registered households.
Our Four Parishes Cluster
Sacred Heart does not stand alone — it is part of the 'Our Four Parishes' cluster, a single-pastorate linking Sacred Heart (Cunningham), St. Leo (St. Leo), St. Peter (Willowdale), and St. John (Zenda). The shared website at ourfourparishes.com uses the tagline 'One Priest. Four Parishes. One Faith Community.' and the mission phrase 'LED BY FAITH. UNITED IN CHRIST. SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES TOGETHER.' Weekend Mass rotates across all four churches, giving every parish in the cluster regular Sunday worship.
- Sacred Heart — Cunningham
- St. Leo — St. Leo
- St. Peter — Willowdale
- St. John — Zenda
- Shared pastor: Fr. Daryl W. Befort
Clergy and Staff
The pastor of Sacred Heart is Reverend Daryl W. Befort, who also serves as pastor of St. Leo, St. Peter (Willowdale), and St. John (Zenda). Fr. Befort was born on July 29, 1968, and was ordained a priest on May 27, 1995, for the Diocese of Wichita. His mailing address and cluster rectory is 8035 SW 160th Avenue, Nashville, KS 67112. A team of lay secretaries and cemetery contacts across the four parishes keeps day-to-day operations running.
- Pastor: Reverend Daryl W. Befort
- Phone: (620) 246-5370
- Cell: (316) 706-1627
- St. Leo & St. John Secretary & St. Peter Cemetery Contact: Darlene Oeding
- Sacred Heart Secretary & Cemetery Contact: Cheryl Kanngiesser
- St. Leo Secretary: Cindy Schaller
- Cluster email: [email protected]
Cluster Mass Calendar (All Four Parishes)
The four-parish cluster publishes a unified weekend schedule so parishioners in any of the four towns know when and where Mass is being offered each week. The published weekend times are Saturday at 4:00 PM and 5:30 PM, Sunday at 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM, with the assignment rotating among Sacred Heart (Cunningham), St. Leo (St. Leo), St. Peter (Willowdale), and St. John (Zenda).
- Saturday 4:00 PM — rotating
- Saturday 5:30 PM — rotating
- Sunday 8:30 AM — rotating
- Sunday 10:00 AM — rotating
Visiting and Contact Information
Visitors and parishioners can reach Sacred Heart through the shared cluster office at (620) 246-5370, or by emailing [email protected]. The parish mailing address is 404 East First Street, Cunningham, KS 67035. Because the weekend schedule rotates between four parishes, calling ahead is the most reliable way to confirm a particular Sunday's Mass time at Sacred Heart before traveling to town.
- Street: 404 East First Street, Cunningham, KS 67035
- Phone: (620) 246-5370
- Email: [email protected]
- Cluster rectory: 8035 SW 160th Ave., Nashville, KS 67112
Parish Demographics
According to the Diocese of Wichita parish directory, Sacred Heart currently counts 57 registered families and approximately 109 individual Catholics. In addition to the parish directory list, Fr. Befort's cluster rectory in Nashville, KS, gives the cluster a single mailing hub for all four small parishes.
- 57 registered families
- ~109 individual Catholics
- Diocese of Wichita jurisdiction