About St. Leo · Snyder, Nebraska
St. Leo is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in the village of Snyder, in northwestern Dodge County, Nebraska, founded in 1889 to serve the farming families — many of German heritage — who settled along Pebble Creek after the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad reached the town in 1886. The parish has been a mission of St. Patrick Catholic Church in nearby Fremont since the Archdiocese of Omaha's 'Journey of Faith' pastoral planning process grouped it into Urban Family A in 2023, sharing pastoral leadership and worship resources with neighboring parishes in North Bend, Hooper, and Scribner. The parish gathers weekly for Saturday evening Mass in its 1930 Romanesque Revival brick church, which is listed on the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey for its contribution to religious life in Snyder during the early-twentieth-century growth period.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- St. Leo (the Great)
- Rector
- Rev. Walter L. Nolte
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
St. Leo offers rural Dodge County Catholics an intimate, historically rooted worship community in a landmark 1930 Romanesque Revival brick church that still rings its bell for Saturday evening Mass each week, with confession beforehand — the kind of small-parish familiarity that has served Snyder's farming families for more than 130 years. As a mission of St. Patrick in Fremont within Urban Family A, it draws on the larger parish's pastoral staff (pastor Fr. Walter Nolte and associate Fr. Bill Cremers), faith-formation programming, and Archbishop Bergan Catholic School resources, so parishioners get small-church warmth with big-parish support. Visitors can attend a quiet Saturday evening liturgy, meet the families who maintain the historic building, and connect into a network of five parishes across the Fremont–North Bend–Hooper–Scribner–Snyder corridor.
Mass times at St. Leo
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00–3:45 PM (at St. Leo, Snyder)
Parish Identity & Family of Parishes
St. Leo's Catholic Church in Snyder, Nebraska, is a mission parish of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fremont and a member of 'Urban Family A' in the Archdiocese of Omaha's Journey of Faith reorganization. The family brings together St. Patrick (Fremont), St. Lawrence (Scribner), St. Rose of Lima (Hooper), St. Charles Borromeo (North Bend), and St. Leo (Snyder) under one pastor — Fr. Walter L. Nolte — with associate pastor Fr. William J. (Bill) Cremers serving across all five sites. Snyder's parish office and sacramental records are administered through the St. Patrick parish office in Fremont, and the St. Leo bulletin page is hosted on the St. Patrick website (stpatsfremont.org/st-leo).
- Address: 302 Ash Street, Snyder, NE 68664
- Parish office phone: 402-652-8437
- Mailing / administrative location: St. Patrick Catholic Church, 3400 E. 16th Street, Fremont, NE 68025
- Rite: Roman-Latin (Roman Rite)
History
St. Leo's was founded in 1889, three years after the village of Snyder was platted by the Western Town Lot Company (representatives of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad) and one year before Snyder was incorporated in June 1890. The community had been drawn together when Conrad Schneider arrived in 1880 to build a grist mill on the South Pebble, and the railroad's Elkhorn branch line (1886) attracted German Catholic and German Lutheran settlers in large numbers. The parish grew alongside St. Peter's Lutheran Church (1888) and Immanuel Lutheran (1898), and the two denominational schools together educated most Snyder children for generations.
- 1889 — Parish founded; first church built
- 1930 — Present Romanesque Revival brick church with tall corner bell tower constructed; today on the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey (NEHBS DD11-004)
- 2017 — Fr. Walter L. Nolte becomes pastor of St. Patrick in Fremont and president of Archbishop Bergan Catholic School
- 2023 — St. Leo joins St. Patrick (Fremont), St. Lawrence (Scribner), St. Rose of Lima (Hooper), and St. Charles Borromeo (North Bend) in 'Urban Family A' under the Archdiocese of Omaha's Journey of Faith
- 2024 — Fr. Walter Nolte formally named pastor of all five Urban Family A parishes; Fr. Bill Cremers named associate pastor across the family
Architecture & Historic Significance
The current church is a 1930 Romanesque Revival brick building, visually dominated by a tall corner bell tower. The Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey (NEHBS Number DD11-004) lists it as potentially significant for its role in the evolution of religious worship in Snyder during Nebraska's period of Development and Growth (1890–1920), noting that despite minor foundation alterations over the decades the structure retains its original character. The local Scribner-Snyder Community Schools history describes the building as 'a beautiful example of Romanesque-style architecture.'
- Style: Romanesque Revival
- Construction date: 1930
- Materials: large brick walls
- Defining feature: tall corner bell tower
- Survey record: NEHBS DD11-004 (Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey, Dodge County)
Clergy & Staff
Since 2023–2024 St. Leo has been served by the pastoral team of Urban Family A. Fr. Walter L. Nolte, who became pastor of St. Patrick in Fremont in June 2017, took on additional duties as pastor of all five Urban Family A parishes in 2024 — including St. Leo in Snyder — and also serves as president of Archbishop Bergan Catholic School. Fr. William J. (Bill) Cremers was named associate pastor across Urban Family A in 2024. Fr. Minh Tran is also listed in the Archdiocese of Omaha directory among Urban Family A associate pastors. Day-to-day pastoral needs at the Snyder mission are coordinated through the St. Patrick parish office.
- Rev. Walter L. Nolte — Pastor (Urban Family A)
- Rev. William J. (Bill) Cremers — Associate Pastor (Urban Family A)
- Rev. Minh Tran — Associate Pastor (Urban Family A)
- Parish office: 402-652-8437
Sacraments & Family-of-Parishes Resources
Eucharist and Reconciliation are available at St. Leo on its weekly Saturday schedule. For Baptisms, Marriages, Anointing of the Sick, First Communion, and Confirmation preparation, parishioners work through the Urban Family A pastoral team based at St. Patrick in Fremont, which coordinates the sacramental preparation programs across the five parishes. The family of parishes also shares access to Archbishop Bergan Catholic School in Fremont (preschool through 12th grade), the family-of-parishes' Catholic school.
- Eucharist — Saturday Vigil, 4:00 PM at St. Leo
- Reconciliation — Saturday 3:00–3:45 PM at St. Leo
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — coordinated through Urban Family A / St. Patrick Fremont
- Archbishop Bergan Catholic School — family-of-parishes school (Fremont)
Visiting Snyder & St. Leo
Snyder is a small village of about 247 residents in northwestern Dodge County, Nebraska, sited along Pebble Creek west of Fremont. Visitors approaching for Saturday Vigil Mass or Saturday confessions can find the church at 302 Ash Street; the 1930 Romanesque Revival brick building with its tall corner bell tower is the architectural landmark of the village. Parking is available along Ash Street and on the parish grounds; there is no public transit in the village, so visitors arrive by car. The local Scribner-Snyder Community Schools history notes that the church is part of the historic fabric of a community whose two denominational school systems (Catholic and Lutheran) educated most of its children for generations.
- Address: 302 Ash Street, Snyder, NE 68664
- Phone: 402-652-8437
- Saturday Mass: 4:00 PM
- Saturday Confessions: 3:00–3:45 PM
- Family-of-parishes website: stpatsfremont.org/st-leo
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Various resident pastors (mission/independent era)1889 – c. early 2000s
For most of its 134-year history St. Leo was an independent parish with its own resident priests, serving the rural Catholic families of northwestern Dodge County. The parish had its own parochial school for generations, as Snyder's two church-run schools (Catholic and Lutheran) 'provided elementary education for a majority of our residents for generations' per the local community history.
- Rev. Keith D. Rezac
Listed in the Archdiocese of Omaha Directory as Pastor of St. Leo Snyder during the early-2020s transition.
- Rev. Walter L. Nolte2017 – present
Became pastor of St. Patrick Fremont in June 2017 and president of Archbishop Bergan Catholic School; in 2023–2024, under the Journey of Faith reorganization, took on additional duties as pastor of all five parishes of Urban Family A, including St. Leo of Snyder. Known for spiritual initiatives including prayer and healing ministry, parish conferences and retreats, and facilitating unity between English and Spanish-speaking communities at St. Patrick.
- Rev. William J. (Bill) Cremers2024 – present
Appointed associate pastor across Urban Family A parishes in 2024, including St. Leo Snyder.