About St. Columbkille · Blaine, Kansas
St. Columbkille Parish is a small rural Catholic mission church in Blaine, Pottawatomie County, Kansas, founded in 1888 to serve an Irish immigrant farming community settled in the late 1870s. The current red-brick Gothic-style church was completed in 1908 and remains the heart of the parish, surrounded by the historic Mount Calvary Cemetery. Because Blaine no longer has a resident priest, St. Columbkille is served from Annunciation Parish in nearby Frankfort and currently shares its pastor with three other rural churches. With about 75 families, the parish combines deep Irish-Catholic heritage with the close-knit character of a Great Plains farming community.
- Established
- 1888
- Patron
- St. Columbkille (St. Colmcille / St. Columba of Iona)
- Rector
- Rev. Anthony Chendumalli
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
Why belong here
St. Columbkille offers a rare window into a living Irish-Catholic prairie heritage — a small but devoted community of about 75 families that maintains a beautiful 1908 red-brick Gothic church, an active Knights of Columbus council (chartered 1921), and ongoing religious-education classes for children. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed into a tight-knit rural parish where one pastor lovingly serves multiple mission churches and the same families have stewarded the church for five generations. The parish's recent $320,000 renovation and its 2008 centennial Mass celebrating 'our Irish ancestors' show a community committed to preserving its faith and its landmark building for the next century.
Mass times at St. Columbkille
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:30 p.m. – 5:50 p.m. (before the 6:00 p.m. Mass)
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction are held occasionally as multi-parish events (e.g., following the multi-parish concert); check the parish bulletin for current schedule.
History of St. Columbkille Parish
St. Columbkille traces its origins to 1879, when Irish immigrants from the 'Kerry Patch' neighborhood of St. Louis established the colony originally named Butler City in northern Pottawatomie County. Father Bernard Hudson arrived as the first resident priest in 1880; the first frame church was completed in 1881 and the parish was formally founded in 1888. A red-brick Gothic-style church replaced the original frame building in 1908, and that structure still serves the parish today. Surrounding the church is Mount Calvary Cemetery, opened in 1885, whose oldest stones mark the graves of Blaine's founding Irish families.
- Town platted as 'Butler City' on October 14, 1879
- First resident priest: Father Bernard Hudson, 1880
- First church built 1881 (frame, 30×50 ft, ~$2,500)
- Mount Calvary Cemetery opened 1885
- Parish formally founded 1888
- Current red-brick Gothic church completed 1908
- Last Catholic school closed 1966
The 2022–2023 Renovation
After more than 40 years without major work, St. Columbkille undertook an approximately $320,000 renovation of its 1908 building between August 2022 and May 2023. Planning began as early as 2016 under the parish council. Eleven mostly-local firms participated — many of them parishioners or Catholics from nearby communities. Highlights included new green high-impact shingles (a tribute to the parish's Irish heritage) installed by J.B. Turner & Sons Roofing of Topeka, new storm windows, and a new confessional hand-built by parishioner Leo Finan of Finan Construction. On May 13, 2023, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann celebrated a Mass blessing the renovated church, concelebrated by pastor Father Anthony Chendumalli and assisted by seminarian Cesar Gomez.
- Project budget: approximately $320,000
- Parish council leaders: Jim McCormick and Todd Olson
- Archdiocesan advisor: Dan Himmelberg, director of real estate and construction
- Approximately 11 mostly-local firms participated
- Confessional built by parishioner Leo Finan (Finan Construction)
- New green roof by J.B. Turner & Sons Roofing & Sheet Metal (Topeka)
Ministries & Organizations
The parish supports an active Parish Council and several ministries rooted in its long Irish-Catholic tradition. The Knights of Columbus Council #2278, chartered in 1921, remains active and meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Church Hall. Religious-education classes for children continue weekly in the church hall, continuing a tradition that has run since the parish school closed in 1966.
- Parish Council
- Knights of Columbus Council #2278 (since 1921)
- Religious Education / CCD (weekly in the church hall)
- Liturgy and music ministry
- Renovation Committee
- Multi-parish Adoration teams
Sacraments
Sacramental preparation is coordinated through the parish office (shared with Annunciation Parish, Frankfort). Families should contact the parish office well in advance for baptism, marriage, and first-communion preparation. Anointing of the Sick and funeral rites are available by request.
- Baptism
- First Communion / Confirmation (via cluster)
- Marriage
- Anointing of the Sick
- Penance (Saturday before Mass)
Visiting Blaine & St. Columbkille
The red-brick church and its tall steeple are the visual landmark of the tiny town of Blaine, situated at the intersection of Kansas Highways 16 and 99. The Kansas Guidebook highlights the church as a picture-perfect example of small-town Kansas Gothic, and the adjoining Mount Calvary Cemetery is itself a heritage site with gravestones of the area's first Irish settlers. Visitors are welcome at the Saturday evening Mass and at occasional multi-parish events.
- Landmark: tall Gothic steeple visible for miles across the prairie
- Adjacent: Mount Calvary Cemetery (est. 1885)
- Setting: rural Clear Creek Township, Pottawatomie County
Getting Involved & Annual Events
Although small (about 75 families), St. Columbkille keeps an active social and fundraising calendar. Annual events include a baked-potato feed, St. Patrick's Day observances honoring the Irish pioneer heritage, and the multi-parish Eucharistic Adoration evenings. The Knights of Columbus Council #2278 welcomes Catholic men in good standing to join their meetings at the church hall.
- Annual baked-potato feed
- St. Patrick's Day heritage celebrations
- Multi-parish Adoration and Benediction evenings
- Knights of Columbus Council #2278 (2nd Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Bernard Hudson1880–
First resident priest; oversaw construction of the first church (1881) and helped establish the parish and Mount Calvary Cemetery.
- Rev. T. Ambrose Butlerpre-1879
Irish-born priest who conceived the colony project from the Kerry Patch in St. Louis; the town was originally platted as 'Butler City' in his honor in 1879 (not a resident pastor of the parish itself).
- Rev. Arul Carasalacirca 2008
Served St. Columbkille as part of a four-parish cluster with St. Bede (Kelly), St. Patrick (Corning), and St. Vincent de Paul (Onaga); pastor was later shot and killed (see news).
- Rev. Kirity Podilacirca 2008
Assisting priest in residence at St. Columbkille Blaine during the 2008 archdiocesan planning process.
- Rev. Patrick Sullivan2010s
Pastor of the Annunciation–St. Columbkille–St. Monica-St. Elizabeth cluster; later reassigned to Sacred Heart of Jesus, Shawnee.
- Rev. Daniel Schmitz2010s
Succeeded Fr. Sullivan as pastor of Annunciation (Frankfort), St. Monica-St. Elizabeth (Blue Rapids), and St. Columbkille (Blaine).
- Rev. Anthony Chendumalli2020s–present
Ordained April 21, 2016 in the Diocese of Cuddapah, India; appointed pastor of Annunciation/Frankfort, St. Monica-St. Elizabeth/Blue Rapids, and St. Columbkille/Blaine; oversaw the 2022–2023 renovation and blessing by Archbishop Naumann.
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