About St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr · Evansville, Indiana
St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr is a Roman Catholic church located at 1600 Glendale Avenue on the west side of Evansville, Indiana. Originally established in 1892 as a missionary parish to serve the Catholic families of the small railroad community of Howell, it has been part of the consolidated St. Boniface Parish since July 1, 2014, when Bishop Charles Thompson merged it with the former Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and the former St. Boniface Parish. Today the church remains active as one of three worship sites within St. Boniface Parish in the Diocese of Evansville, hosting a Saturday Vigil Mass and two weekday Masses, and it houses the preschool-through-4th-grade campus of Westside Catholic School.
- Established
- 1892
- Patron
- St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
- Rector
- Rev. Christopher Droste
- Diocese
- Diocese of Evansville
Why belong here
St. Agnes offers a warm, intimate worship site within the larger St. Boniface Parish, with a Saturday Vigil Mass plus Wednesday and Thursday weekday Masses that give busy families and shift workers flexible options. The parish grounds also host the St. Agnes Campus of Westside Catholic School (preschool through 4th grade), where students learn in a faith-filled Catholic community, and the historic 1952 church with its sandstone bell tower and renovated original 1892 bell is a tangible link to 130-plus years of Howell's Catholic heritage.
Mass times at St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 7:30 AM – 7:55 AM (at St. Agnes)
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:25 PM (at St. Agnes, before Vigil Mass)
- Wednesday 5:00 PM – 5:25 PM (at St. Agnes, before Mass)
- 30 minutes before every Mass throughout the parish
Adoration times
- Monday 6:30 PM at Sacred Heart Church (followed by 7:30 PM Mass)
- First Friday of the month, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM at Sacred Heart Church
History of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr Parish was established in 1892 to serve the Catholic families of Howell, a small railroad community on Evansville's west side. It began as a missionary parish served from Sacred Heart Church by Rev. Patrick Fitzpatrick, and received its first resident pastor, Rev. Francis Ryves, in 1906. A second, larger church-school building was constructed in 1910 in the Romanesque Revival style (cornerstone May 10, 1910; dedicated November 19, 1910), with the church on the upper floor and the school below. The present church was built in 1952 under Rev. Clemens Hut and dedicated in January 1953, accompanied by a sandstone bell tower assembled by parish volunteers that reuses the original 1892 bell. In 2014, Bishop Charles Thompson merged St. Agnes with Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and St. Boniface Parish into the new territorial St. Boniface Parish, effective July 1, 2014.
- 1892 – Parish established; first small wood-framed church at Egmont St. and Barker Ave.
- 1906 – Rev. Francis Ryves becomes first resident pastor.
- 1910 – New Romanesque Revival church-school built; cornerstone May 10, 1910; dedicated November 19, 1910.
- 1940 – Rectory completed under Rev. William Bastnagel.
- 1948 – Rev. Clemens Hut becomes pastor.
- 1952 – Present church built; dedicated January 1953.
- 1964 – New school built.
- 1979 – Original 1892 bell renovated.
- 1980 – Interior of the church remodeled.
- 2001 – Ryves Hall added to the school.
- July 1, 2014 – Merged into St. Boniface Parish by decree of Bishop Charles Thompson.
Parish Leadership & Staff
St. Agnes is pastored as part of the consolidated St. Boniface Parish, sharing one pastoral team across all three worship sites. The current pastor is Fr. Christopher Droste, supported by Fr. Lowell Will as Senior Priest in Residence and Deacon Robert (Rocky) Mattingly.
- Pastor: Rev. Christopher Droste
- Senior Priest in Residence: Rev. Lowell Will
- Parish Deacon: Deacon Rocky (Robert) Mattingly
- Director of Religious Education: Jenny Mayer
- Director of Operations: Jamie Wicks
- Bookkeeper: Denise Lehman
- Administrative Assistant: Erin Gries
Mass & Worship Schedule
St. Agnes Church hosts a Saturday Vigil Mass plus two weekday Masses as part of the St. Boniface Parish worship schedule. Parishioners may attend Mass at any of the three church sites — St. Agnes, St. Boniface, or Sacred Heart — under one shared schedule.
- Saturday Vigil Mass — 4:30 PM at St. Agnes
- Wednesday Mass — 5:30 PM at St. Agnes
- Thursday Mass — 8:00 AM at St. Agnes
- Sunday 7:30 AM at Sacred Heart
- Sunday 10:00 AM at St. Boniface
- Sunday 12:00 PM (Latin) at Sacred Heart
- Monday 7:30 PM (with 6:30 PM Adoration) at Sacred Heart
- Tuesday 8:00 AM at St. Boniface
- Friday 7:30 AM at Sacred Heart
- Saturday 8:00 AM in the Grotto (first Saturday of the month) at St. Boniface
Westside Catholic School
Westside Catholic School is a preschool-through-8th-grade Catholic school in the Diocese of Evansville, formed in 1974 from the three established parochial schools of Sacred Heart, St. Agnes, and St. Boniface. Today the St. Agnes Campus at 1620 Glendale Avenue houses preschool through grade 4, while the St. Boniface Campus at 2031 W. Michigan Street houses grades 5–8. The school is accredited through Cognia and the Indiana Department of Education.
- St. Agnes Campus — Preschool through Grade 4, 1620 Glendale Avenue, (812) 423-9115
- St. Boniface Campus — Grades 5–8, 2031 W. Michigan Street, (812) 422-1014
- Principal: Sister Catherine Stewart, O.P.
- Mission: "to teach as Jesus did" within a caring Catholic community
Religious Education & Becoming Catholic
The parish supports religious education for children and youth through Jenny Mayer (Director of Religious Education / PCL, Youth Ministry), and offers the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) for adults seeking to become Catholic or to complete their initiation sacraments.
- Director of Religious Education: Jenny Mayer
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) for unbaptized adults, baptized Christians from other traditions, and Catholics needing formation
- Youth Ministry programs coordinated through the parish office
The Three Worship Sites of St. Boniface Parish
Since the 2014 merger, St. Boniface Parish has been a single territorial parish with three active churches on the west side of Evansville. The consolidated parish was established by decree of Bishop Charles Thompson on September 27, 2013, effective July 1, 2014.
- St. Agnes Church — 1600 Glendale Avenue (Howell)
- St. Boniface Church — 418 N. Wabash Avenue (Independence); listed on the National Register of Historic Places; contains the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto (dedicated 1914)
- Sacred Heart Church — 2701 W. Franklin Street; site of the Traditional Latin Mass
Traditional Latin Mass Community
A Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated at noon each Sunday at Sacred Heart Church, with the Traditional Latin Mass Community (TLMC) gathering for a monthly potluck in the Sacred Heart cafeteria on the third Sunday of each month after the noon Mass.
- Sunday 12:00 PM Latin Mass at Sacred Heart Church
- TLMC potluck lunch — third Sunday of each month after the noon Latin Mass
Parish Office & Contact
The St. Boniface Parish Office serves all three church sites including St. Agnes. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and the staff can be reached by phone or email for sacramental scheduling, registration, and parish business.
- Parish Office: 1626 Glendale Avenue, Evansville, IN 47712
- Phone: (812) 423-1721
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.saintbonifaceparish.org
- Office Hours: Monday–Thursday, 7:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Patrick Fitzpatrick1892–1906
Pastor of Sacred Heart who served Howell as a missionary; not a resident pastor of St. Agnes.
- Rev. Francis Ryves1906–
First resident pastor; oversaw construction of the 1910 church-school building. Ryves Hall at the school is named in his honor.
- Rev. William Bastnagel
Completed the rectory in 1940.
- Rev. Clemens Hut1948–
Directed the building of the present church in 1952.
- Fr. David Nunninguntil June 30, 2014
Last pastor of the former St. Agnes and Sacred Heart parishes before the 2014 merger; retired June 30, 2014.