About St. Bridget · Rich Hill, Missouri
St. Bridget Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic mission parish located in Rich Hill, a rural community in Bates County, Missouri. It is served as a mission of St. Mary Parish in nearby Nevada, within the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The parish gathers its faithful each Sunday morning for Mass at 8:30 a.m., continuing a Catholic presence in Rich Hill that is documented in parish registers going back to 1882. Dedicated to St. Bridget of Ireland, the parish is one of the older rural Catholic congregations in western Missouri.
- Established
- 1882
- Patron
- St. Bridget of Ireland
- Rector
- Rev. Anthony J. Pileggi
- Diocese
- Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Why belong here
St. Bridget offers Catholics in rural Bates County a quiet, traditional place to worship each Sunday morning in a small, tight-knit community of faith. As a mission of St. Mary Parish in Nevada, it shares in the pastoral care of an experienced priest and the wider diocesan family, while keeping a local presence for Rich Hill-area parishioners. It is an ideal Sunday stop for anyone seeking an early-morning rural Mass, to attend a quaint historic Catholic mission, or simply to join a community devoted to the Eucharist.
Mass times at St. Bridget
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Mission Status
St. Bridget Catholic Church in Rich Hill, Missouri, is a Roman Catholic mission church — not a stand-alone parish. It is served from and belongs to St. Mary Parish in nearby Nevada (about 20 miles south), and the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph lists it on the official diocesan roster as 'St. Bridget (Mission of St. Mary, Nevada).' This means that, although it has its own church building and a regular Sunday Mass, the everyday pastoral and sacramental care for the mission is carried out by the pastor and staff of St. Mary's in Nevada.
- Mission of St. Mary Parish, Nevada, Missouri
- Part of the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph
- Pastoral care provided by the pastor of St. Mary, Nevada
History of St. Bridget
The Catholic presence at Rich Hill is documented in parish records beginning in 1882, when the earliest surviving registers of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for St. Bridget were opened. Those records, covering 1882 through 1953, are now preserved by the FamilySearch Library and remain an important genealogical resource for descendants of the early Catholic families of Bates County. The parish's mission status today is a continuation of a long pastoral tradition in which rural Catholic outstations in western Missouri are served by priests based at the larger nearby parish — in this case St. Mary, Nevada.
- Earliest parish registers date to 1882
- Records 1882–1953 preserved at the FamilySearch Library
- Historically part of the Catholic missionary network of Vernon and Bates Counties
Mass & Worship Schedule
Because St. Bridget is a small rural mission, public Mass is celebrated only once a week. The Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph's official parish listing and multiple parish-directory sites confirm a single Sunday morning celebration at 8:30 a.m.
- Sunday Mass — 8:30 a.m.
- All Masses celebrated in English
- Weekday Masses are not scheduled at the mission; parishioners attend the daily schedule at St. Mary, Nevada
Clergy & Pastoral Care
Pastoral care for the mission is provided through St. Mary Parish, Nevada. The current pastor responsible for St. Bridget is Rev. Anthony J. Pileggi, who also serves as parish priest of St. Mary's.
- Pastor: Rev. Anthony J. Pileggi
- Pastoral support comes from St. Mary Parish, Nevada
- Parish office line (417) 667-7517 is shared with St. Mary's, Nevada
Location, Address & Contact
St. Bridget Catholic Church sits at the corner of East Walnut Street and 9th Street in Rich Hill, Missouri. The mailing address is 823 East Walnut Street, Rich Hill, MO 64779 (ZIP code 64779, per GCatholic; directory listings also show 64772 for Bates County). The parish office is administered through St. Mary, Nevada, and uses the same telephone line.
- Address: 823 E Walnut St (at 9th & E Walnut), Rich Hill, MO 64779
- Parish phone: (417) 667-7517 (St. Mary's, Nevada office)
- GCatholic contact phone: +1 (417) 667-5604
- Web / social: https://www.facebook.com/SaintMarysNevada/
Online & Directory Presence
Because the mission is served from St. Mary, Nevada, its main online and directory presence is shared with the mother parish. The official diocesan parish directory, GCatholic, Discover Mass, catholicmasstime.org, Join My Church, and the parish's Facebook page (SaintMarysNevada) all reflect the same core information: a Sunday 8:30 a.m. Mass at 823 E Walnut, Rich Hill, served by the pastor of St. Mary's, Nevada.
- Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph parish directory listing
- GCatholic church ID 35764
- Discover Mass listing for St. Bridget, Rich Hill, MO
- Shared Facebook page: SaintMarysNevada