About St. Clara · Peru, Nebraska
St. Clara is a small Catholic mission parish located at 604 6th Street in Peru, Nebraska, in the rolling hills of the southeastern part of the state. It is administered as a mission of St. Joseph Catholic Church in nearby Auburn and belongs to the Diocese of Lincoln (Falls City Deanery). The parish serves the small college town of Peru — home of Peru State College — and despite having only about 17 registered families, its modest 1933 church fills nearly every Sunday with students, local families, and visitors from the surrounding area. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:30 a.m., with confessions heard beforehand.
- Established
- 1933
- Patron
- St. Clare of Assisi
- Rector
- Rev. Randall "Fr. Rand" Langhorst
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lincoln
Why belong here
St. Clara is a small but devoted Catholic community that has gathered on Indian Hill in Peru since 1933, and its modest church still fills nearly every Sunday with families, Peru State College students, and visitors from Auburn and the surrounding countryside. Worshippers are welcomed to a single Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m. (with confessions beforehand), sacraments by appointment, and the quiet fellowship of a parish that has lovingly preserved its historic devotional statues — including a 1923 horsehair statue of St. Clare of Assisi recently restored by parish volunteers. As pastor Fr. Rand Langhorst and the staff of St. Joseph in Auburn serve both parishes together, members can plug into CCD religious education, parish bulletins, and shared events while enjoying the warmth of a tight-knit mission community.
Mass times at St. Clara
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:45–8:15 a.m. (Peru)
Welcome to St. Clara Catholic Church, Peru, Nebraska
St. Clara is a small Catholic mission parish in the college town of Peru, in southeastern Nebraska's Falls City Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln. Administered together with St. Joseph Catholic Church in Auburn, the parish offers Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m. with confessions beforehand, and weekday pastoral services by appointment. The parish community warmly welcomes the many Peru State College students who attend Mass each week alongside local families and visitors from the surrounding area.
- Sunday Mass: 8:30 a.m.
- Confessions: Sunday 7:45–8:15 a.m.
- Weekday Masses by appointment
- Mission of St. Joseph, Auburn
History of St. Clara Parish
Before there was a church in Peru, Mass was often celebrated in the David Jack home, where Mrs. Jack served coffee and rolls to college students afterward. The effort to build a proper parish church was led in the 1930s by Monsignor L. L. Mandeville, pastor of St. Joseph in Auburn, who also served the Peru Catholics. The story of how the Indian Hill site was secured is preserved in Msgr. Mandeville's own account of a novena to St. Anthony — answered, he believed, when Dr. William Jack unexpectedly arrived at his parents' home the very afternoon the priest stopped by, and offered to donate the family property as a memorial to his mother.
- 1933: Church built by Joseph Palmer of Auburn
- Total construction cost: $2,817.24
- Site on Indian Hill donated by Dr. William Jack in memory of his mother Catherine Jack
- $2,000 grant secured from the Catholic Church Extension Society via Bishop William O'Brian in Chicago
- Arranged through Bishop Louis B. Kucera of the Diocese of Lincoln
Treasured Statues and Devotional Heritage
St. Clara's humble interior holds several devotional items of great sentimental and historical value. A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child was given by Dr. William Jack in memory of his mother, Catherine Jack. A statue of the Sacred Heart was donated by the Tynon family, who also — through Miss Rose Tynon — left an 80-acre farm for the ongoing care of the church. The parish's most distinctive treasure is its 1923 statue of St. Clare of Assisi, made by an artist using horse hair and plaster and gifted by the Peru State College Catholic Students Association.
- Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ Child (gift of Dr. William Jack in memory of Catherine Jack)
- Statue of the Sacred Heart (gift of the Tynon family)
- 80-acre farm bequeathed by Miss Rose Tynon for the church's care
- 1923 statue of St. Clare of Assisi (horse hair and plaster, gift of the Peru State College Catholic Students Association)
- Stations of the Cross and Last Supper image above the altar (repainted by Mary Ann Chaney)
Restoration of the St. Clare Statue (2024)
After a century of wear — cracks, chipped paint, a broken monstrance, and missing fingers — the 1923 statue of St. Clare of Assisi was removed from the church when professional repair was deemed too costly. Longtime parishioner Margaret McConnaughey took the statue home to safeguard it; after her death in 2023 it was returned to the parish. Mary Ann Chaney, a longtime member of nearby St. Joseph Parish in Auburn who had previously repainted the stations of the cross and the Last Supper at St. Clara, donated nearly a year of work and the materials to restore it. The refurbished statue was welcomed back on September 26, 2024 — the anniversary of St. Clare's canonization — with the parish bells ringing and a gathering of about 20 people, followed by a Mass of re-dedication and a parish potluck.
- Statue originally constructed 1923 (horse hair and plaster)
- Longtime custodian: Margaret McConnaughey (d. 2023)
- Restored by Mary Ann Chaney over nearly a year
- Re-dedicated September 26, 2024 — anniversary of St. Clare's canonization (1255)
- Potluck supper followed the Mass of re-dedication
Parish Staff
St. Clara is served together with St. Joseph in Auburn by a small, shared staff led by the pastor.
- Fr. Rand Langhorst — Pastor (appointed pastor of both St. Joseph, Auburn and St. Clara, Peru effective June 16, 2025)
- Linda Ellison — Parish Secretary (402-409-2258, [email protected])
- Lynn Wenzl — Director of Religious Education (402-239.5207, [email protected])
Religious Education and CCD
Religious education for both St. Joseph and St. Clara parishes is coordinated by Director of Religious Education Lynn Wenzl. CCD classes for grades K-5 are held during the school year on Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m., in conjunction with the 5:15 p.m. Wednesday Mass at St. Joseph in Auburn.
- Director of Religious Education: Lynn Wenzl (402-239-5207)
- CCD K-5 held during the school year
- Wednesday session at 5:15 p.m. (with 5:15 p.m. Wednesday Mass at St. Joseph, Auburn)
Diocese, Deanery, and Governance
St. Clara is a mission parish within the Diocese of Lincoln, the Catholic diocese covering the southern and central portion of Nebraska. It sits in the Falls City Deanery and is administered as a mission of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Auburn, sharing a pastor, staff, and bulletin.
- Diocese of Lincoln
- Falls City Deanery
- Mission of St. Joseph, Auburn
- Shared pastor: Rev. Randall Langhorst (appointed June 16, 2025)
Contact, Address, and Visiting
St. Clara's physical church is at 604 6th Street in Peru, but the parish shares its mailing address, office, secretary, email, and website with St. Joseph in Auburn. Visitors and parishioners are encouraged to use the parish office (open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.) for sacramental scheduling, or to contact Fr. Rand directly.
- Street address: 604 6th Street, Peru, NE 68421
- Mailing address: PO Box 406, Auburn, NE 68305
- Parish phone: 402-430-4636
- Office phone: 402-409-2258
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: auburnstjoseph-clara.org
- Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:00–10:00 a.m.
St. Clare of Assisi — Patroness of the Parish
St. Clara (St. Clare) of Assisi (1194–1253) was the foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies, the contemplative Franciscan women's religious order now known as the Poor Clares. A friend and follower of St. Francis of Assisi, she wrote the first known Rule of monastic life authored by a woman. She is the patron saint of television (declared by Pope Pius XII in 1958), eye disorders, embroiderers, and many other causes, and is commemorated on her feast day, August 11. The parish's patroness statue is the focal point of the church's restored devotional heritage.
- Born Chiara Offreduccio, July 16, 1194, in Assisi
- Died August 11, 1253; canonized by Pope Alexander IV on September 26, 1255
- Founded the Order of Poor Ladies (now the Poor Clares)
- Patroness of television, eye disorders, and embroiderers
- Feast day: August 11
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Monsignor L. L. Mandeville1930s
Pastor of St. Joseph in Auburn who also served the people of Peru and initiated the effort to build St. Clara Church in 1933, securing both the Indian Hill site (donated by Dr. William Jack in memory of his mother Catherine Jack) and a $2,000 grant from the Catholic Church Extension Society through Bishop William O'Brian.