About St. Brendan · Jeffrey City, Wyoming
St. Brendan Mission Church is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in Jeffrey City, Wyoming, a former uranium-mining boomtown on the high desert of Fremont County. Classified as a mission of the Diocese of Cheyenne rather than a full parish, it is ministered by Holy Rosary Parish in nearby Lander and cared for pastorally by Rev. Jason Marco. Because Jeffrey City's population collapsed after the uranium market crashed in 1980, the small converted church now gathers its handful of worshipers for Mass only once a month, on the third Sunday of each month. The mission stands as a quiet but enduring sign of Catholic presence in one of Wyoming's most remote and sparsely settled places.
- Patron
- Saint Brendan
- Rector
- Rev. Jason Marco
- Diocese
- Diocese of Cheyenne
Why belong here
St. Brendan Mission is one of the most distinctive Catholic communities in Wyoming — a tiny, once-a-month Mass gathering that survives in a town that nearly vanished when the uranium market collapsed in 1980. For Catholics living in or passing through Jeffrey City, the Lander area, or the surrounding Sweetwater valley, the mission offers a quiet place to worship with the patron of seafaring travelers, Saint Brendan the Navigator, and to be part of a community whose persistence is itself a witness of faith. Visitors should confirm the schedule before traveling, since Mass is celebrated only on the third Sunday of the month.
Mass times at St. Brendan
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 12:30 PM (before the 1:00 PM Mass on the 3rd Sunday of the month)
Identity & Patron Saint
St. Brendan Mission is named for Saint Brendan, the sixth-century Irish monastic known as Brendan the Navigator. As a mission of the Diocese of Cheyenne, it is not an independent parish but is cared for by Holy Rosary Parish in Lander, with Rev. Jason Marco providing pastoral care. Its feast day falls on May 16, when Saint Brendan is honored throughout the universal Church.
- Type: Catholic mission (not a parish)
- Patron: Saint Brendan the Navigator
- Feast day: May 16
- Diocese: Cheyenne
History of Jeffrey City and the Mission
Jeffrey City rose to roughly 5,000 residents at the height of the Wyoming uranium boom in the late 1970s, when the Lost Creek and Pathfinder mines made it one of the busiest small towns in the state. Catholic worship grew up alongside the miners and their families, and the building that now serves as St. Brendan Mission was adapted from a structure originally used for another purpose in the community. When uranium prices collapsed in 1980 and the mines folded, the population fled almost overnight and Jeffrey City became a near-ghost town of empty miners' barracks and creaking signs. The mission survived, sustained by Holy Rosary Parish in Lander, and today its handful of worshipers gather once a month for Mass in a town of about three dozen remaining residents.
- Boomtown peak population ~5,000 around 1980
- Uranium market collapse in 1980 emptied the town
- Building adapted from a former non-church structure
- Currently ministered from Holy Rosary Parish, Lander
Pastoral Leadership
Because St. Brendan is a mission rather than a parish, it does not have a resident pastor. Pastoral care is provided by Rev. Jason Marco through the sponsoring Holy Rosary Parish in Lander, Wyoming. Parish communications and sacramental records are coordinated through that parish office.
- Pastor: Rev. Jason Marco
- Parish Secretary: Renée Stong (at Holy Rosary, Lander)
- Contact phone: (307) 332-4952
Visiting & Getting Involved
St. Brendan Mission is the only Catholic church in Jeffrey City, and is closely tied to the wider Catholic community of the Wind River / Sweetwater valley through Holy Rosary Parish in Lander. Because the congregation is so small and Mass is celebrated only monthly, members often travel in from the surrounding ranches and from Lander itself. Anyone interested in the mission's life is encouraged to reach out through Holy Rosary Parish, whose Facebook page (linked below) carries the most up-to-date information on scheduling, special holy-day Masses, and parish events.
- Closest Catholic parish: Holy Rosary, Lander, WY
- Parish finder: dcwy.org/parishfinder
- Social media: facebook.com/HolyRosaryLander
- Mailing/location: 2323 Sweetwater Blvd, Jeffrey City, WY 82310