About St. Boniface · Bigelow, Arkansas
St. Boniface Catholic Church is a small, historic parish serving the New Dixie community in eastern Perry County, Arkansas, in the Diocese of Little Rock's River Valley Deanery. Founded by German Catholic immigrants in 1879–1881 and named for the patron saint of Germany, the parish has worshiped on the same rural ridge since the early 1900s. The present building is a 1907 Carpenter Gothic–style wooden church that is listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places and remains the surviving heart of the once-isolated New Dixie settlement. The parish also shares pastoral care with St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier.
- Established
- 1879 (parish community founded); mission formally established 1881; elevated to parish status 1884
- Patron
- St. Boniface of Mainz, patron saint of Germany
- Rector
- Rev. Norbert Rappold (appointed 2026; also serves as administrator of St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (Roman Catholic), River Valley Deanery
Why belong here
St. Boniface is one of the oldest continuously active German-heritage Catholic parishes in central Arkansas and remains the surviving institutional heart of the New Dixie community. Worshippers can attend a traditional daily Mass schedule with a Sunday vigil-feel 8 a.m. liturgy, half-hour Eucharistic Adoration before Sunday Mass, and confessions before Sunday Mass — all in an intimate, historic wooden church whose rescued 1901 German altar still anchors the apse. It is also a small, multi-parish community tied to neighboring St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier, making it a warm, close-knit rural parish for those seeking a quiet, rooted Catholic life in the Arkansas River Valley.
Mass times at St. Boniface
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before Sunday Mass (approximately 7:30 a.m.)
Adoration times
- Sunday — 30 minutes before the 8:00 a.m. Mass (approximately 7:30 a.m.)
Parish Overview & Identity
St. Boniface Catholic Church is a small, rural, historic parish in the New Dixie community of eastern Perry County, Arkansas. It belongs to the River Valley Deanery of the Diocese of Little Rock and shares pastoral ministry with St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier. The parish's mailing address is 20 St. Boniface Dr., Bigelow, AR 72016, and it is reached off Highway 60, about 3.9 miles northeast of Bigelow.
- Type: Parish (Catholic)
- Deanery: River Valley Deanery
- Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
- Community served: New Dixie, Perry County, Arkansas
- Phone: (501) 759-2371
- Email: [email protected]
History of the Parish
St. Boniface traces its roots to 1879–1880, when about twenty-five German and Swiss families settled near the village of Dixie on the Arkansas River. Bishop Edward Fitzgerald of Little Rock encouraged the community, and his vicar general, Father Aegidius Hennemann, OSB, celebrated Mass every six to eight weeks. The mission was formally established in 1881 — named in honor of the patron saint of Germany — and was elevated to parish status in 1884. The first pastor was the Benedictine Father Felix Rumph.
- 1879–1880: German and Swiss families settle near Dixie, Perry County.
- 1881: Mission of St. Boniface formally established.
- 1884: Mission elevated to parish status.
- c. 1900: Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad donates forty acres for a church site.
- 1901: First frame St. Boniface church built by Father Matthew Seattele.
- 1906: Fire destroys the original church during Mass.
- 1907: Present Carpenter Gothic church designed by Oswald Miller and built by parishioners.
- 1996: Church placed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places (June 5, 1996).
The 1906 Fire and the Present Building
On a January day in 1906, while Father Othmar Wehrli was celebrating Mass, fire broke out in the convent adjoining the church. Because canon law forbade ending Mass early, the fire could not be fought effectively — the only object saved was the high altar, which had been imported from Germany. Parishioners soon designed and built a new church on the same site, completed in 1907.
- Cause of loss: Fire that began in the adjoining convent in January 1906.
- Single rescued artifact: the imported German high altar (now in the central apse).
- Replacement church: 1907, designed by Oswald Miller and built by parishioners using on-site timber.
Architecture & the Historic Building
The present church is a wooden Carpenter Gothic structure measuring 30 × 100 feet, set on a low ridge and crowned by a 95-foot steeple topped with a five-foot gold-plated cross. Its unadorned vertical surfaces, lancet-arch windows, and gabled roof give it a striking Old World presence in the rural Arkansas landscape. Inside, white beaded-board sheathing lines the walls and ceiling, and three ornately carved white-and-gold altars stand against blue background panels. The central altar — the rescued German piece — sits within a semicircular apse.
- Style: Carpenter Gothic (early Gothic Revival, wood-frame vernacular).
- Size: 30 × 100 feet; steeple 95 feet plus 5-foot cross.
- Designer: Oswald Miller (local coffin maker, self-taught architect/carpenter).
- Altars: Three carved, white-and-gold altars; central one imported from Germany (c. 1901).
- Interior: White beaded-board walls and ceiling; lancet-arch windows.
- Modernization history: metal siding added in the early 1970s; electric chandeliers, central heat and air, removed wood stove, choir-loft fans, bell-tower ladder, and new altar-area carpet installed in sympathetic updates.
Cemetery & German-Heritage Legacy
Immediately adjacent to the church is the parish cemetery, whose oldest headstones are inscribed in German. The earliest known burial is ten-year-old Katarina Nutt, who died in 1882 — about a year after her family emigrated from Balzers, Liechtenstein, to Perry County.
- Oldest recorded burial: Katarina Nutt, d. 1882, originally from Balzers, Liechtenstein.
- Many of the oldest markers carry German inscriptions.
- Cemetery remains a tangible link to the colony's German-Catholic origins.
New Dixie & the Community
Before the 1960s, New Dixie was an isolated community, cut off by poor gravel roads and a ferry crossing of the Arkansas River. After a bridge was built and the roads were paved, the settlement lost its post office, grocer, and much of its population — but St. Boniface remained, continuing to host weddings, funerals, organizational meetings, and interdenominational community dances. The parish is now, more than ever, the symbolic center of the area.
- Original settlement: ~2.5 miles from the church; the area around the church became New Dixie.
- Pre-1960s isolation: poor roads and a ferry across the Arkansas River.
- Post-bridge decline: loss of post office, grocer, and population after 1960s improvements.
- St. Boniface today: the only remaining institution that preserves New Dixie's identity as a community.
Clergy, Staff & Parish Leadership
The parish is currently served by Father Norbert Rappold, who was appointed pastor of St. Boniface and administrator of St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier in 2026. He also continues as Liaison of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Diocese of Little Rock. The previous pastor, Father Taryn Whittington, was reassigned in 2026 to associate pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock. Parish staff include a secretary and a choir director.
- Pastor: Rev. Norbert Rappold (since 2026)
- Previous pastor: Rev. Taryn Whittington (relieved 2026)
- Secretary: Ilene Gunther
- Choir Director: Dorothy Ingram
Office, Contact & Visiting
Parish business is handled by phone, email, or in person during limited office hours. The parish mailing address is 20 St. Boniface Dr., Bigelow, AR 72016, and the church sits off Highway 60 in the New Dixie community, about 3.9 miles northeast of Bigelow.
- Phone: (501) 759-2371
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Wednesday 10 a.m.–noon and 1–3 p.m.; Thursday 1–3 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.–noon
- Visiting tip: Mass is celebrated daily; arriving about 30 minutes early allows time for Adoration and Confession before the Sunday liturgy.
Ministries & Parish Life
As a small rural parish, St. Boniface is sustained by a tight circle of lay leaders and a multi-parish pastoral team. The parish shares pastoral care with St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier, and parish life centers on the historic church, the cemetery, and a new parish hall. Local Knights of Columbus have used the parish as a gathering place, hosting community dinners.
- Parish choir (Choir Director: Dorothy Ingram)
- Parish office / secretarial support (Ilene Gunther)
- Joint ministry with St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community, Greenbrier
- Knights of Columbus community dinners at St. Boniface
- Preservation of the historic church, cemetery, and parish hall
Historic Recognition & Preservation
St. Boniface Catholic Church was listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1996, in recognition of its role as the unifying institution of New Dixie and as a well-preserved example of early-20th-century Carpenter Gothic religious architecture. Preservation efforts continue today, balancing sympathetic modernization with respect for the original 1907 design and the surviving 1901 German high altar.
- Arkansas Register of Historic Places listing: June 5, 1996.
- Significance: unifying institution of New Dixie and a rare rural Carpenter Gothic Catholic church.
- Preservation approach: sympathetic modernization, retaining original form and imported altar.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Felix Rumph, OSBfrom 1879/1880
First pastor; Benedictine monk sent from Subiaco Abbey by Vicar General Father Hennemann for the new German colony.
- Father Matthew Seattelec. 1901
Built the first frame St. Boniface church in 1901 on forty acres donated by the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad. Remembered as 'Arkansas's Greatest Catholic Missionary'; built some 42 churches in his lifetime.
- Father Othmar Wehrliat the church in 1906
Pastor at the time of the January 1906 fire that destroyed the original frame church; canon law prevented him from ending Mass prematurely.
- Rev. Taryn Whittingtonthrough 2026
Recent pastor; also served as administrator of St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community in Greenbrier. Relieved of these duties in 2026.
- Rev. Norbert Rappoldfrom 2026
Current pastor; continues as administrator of St. Oscar Romero Catholic Community, Greenbrier, and remains Liaison of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Diocese of Little Rock.