About St. Mary · Alexandria, Nebraska
St. Mary is a Roman Catholic mission church in the small town of Alexandria, Nebraska, in Jefferson County. It is a mission of St. Michael Parish in nearby Fairbury, and the two share a single parish website and pastoral team. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Lincoln and the Fairbury Deanery. Weekend life centers on Sunday morning Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and a CCD religious-education program for children in grades K-12. As a long-standing country parish dating to the 1870s, St. Mary continues to serve Catholics in Alexandria and the surrounding rural communities.
- Established
- 1878
- Patron
- Saint Mary (the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Justin Fulton
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lincoln
Why belong here
St. Mary offers a small, faithful Catholic community in rural Jefferson County, Nebraska, with the quiet rhythms of country parish life: a single Sunday morning Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and a parish-based CCD program for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Because the parish is closely twinned with St. Michael in Fairbury, members benefit from shared pastoral leadership, a joint bulletin, and a wider network of ministries across the Fairbury Deanery. For Catholics in Alexandria and the surrounding farms and small towns, St. Mary is a place to worship, to hand on the faith to their children, and to stay connected to the larger Diocese of Lincoln.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:30–7:50 a.m. (per Diocese of Lincoln directory)
- Sunday 7:30–7:45 a.m. (per parish website)
Adoration times
- Wednesday 12:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. (September through May), ending with the CCD class and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the church
St. Mary, Alexandria — Parish Overview
St. Mary is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the town of Alexandria, Nebraska, and the surrounding farms and villages in Jefferson County. It is one of the oldest Catholic communities in southeast Nebraska, with roots going back to 1866. Today it is a mission of St. Michael Parish in Fairbury, and the two share a pastor, bulletin, and parish website.
- Type: Mission Church
- Diocese: Lincoln (Fairbury Deanery)
- Mailing: PO Box 406, Fairbury, NE 68352
- Phone: (402) 729-2058
- Website: stmichaelsfairbury.org
History of St. Mary
The story of St. Mary is one of pioneer Catholic missionary work in southeast Nebraska. For its first decade the community had no church building of its own, depending instead on the periodic visits of a missionary priest who rode out from Crete to say Mass in farmhouses. The building of the first church in 1878 gave the community a permanent home, and the early-20th-century construction of a rectory, a brick church, and other parish buildings made St. Mary a self-supporting country parish for much of the 20th century. Since 1990 it has been served as a mission from Fairbury.
- 1866 — Catholic families settle near Alexandria, Meridian, and Powell.
- 1873 — Father Ferdinand Lechleitner, a missionary from Crete, begins celebrating Mass in local homes.
- 1878 — First church built in honor of Saint Mary; parish becomes a mission attached to Lawrence, Hebron, and Fairbury.
- 1912–1988 — Pastor resides in Alexandria.
- 1916 — Rectory built.
- 1929 — New brick church and rectory built.
- 1956 — Parish plant renovated under Father Joseph Mroczkowski.
- 1956–1988 — Father Anthony Turek serves as pastor (last resident pastor in Alexandria).
- 1990 — Saint Joseph in Gilead closes; Saint Mary becomes a mission of Saint Michael, Fairbury.
Parish Staff and Clergy
St. Mary is served by the same pastor who serves the mother parish of St. Michael in Fairbury. A parish-based Religious Education Coordinator handles CCD and family faith formation. The pastor and Religious Education Coordinator are the principal points of contact for parishioners.
- Rev. Justin Fulton — Pastor (appointed June 17, 2024); serves both St. Michael, Fairbury and St. Mary, Alexandria.
- Amy Engle-Evans — Religious Education Coordinator, (402) 429-6836, [email protected].
Faith Formation: CCD for Children K–12
CCD — the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine — is the parish's religious-education and faith-formation program for young people from kindergarten through 12th grade. Classes meet on Wednesday evenings during the school year and close with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the church, giving children a regular rhythm of catechesis and Eucharistic devotion. The program uses the Diocese of Lincoln's curriculum, and volunteer catechists are an essential part of the ministry.
- Grades served: K–12
- Meeting time: Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. (school year)
- Location: Paul Prellwitz Hall, ending in the church for Adoration
- Curriculum: Diocese of Lincoln
- Contact: Amy Engle-Evans, (402) 429-6836, [email protected]
Connection to St. Michael, Fairbury
Since 1990, St. Mary has been a mission of Saint Michael Church in Fairbury. The two parishes share a pastor, a single bulletin, and one combined parish website (stmichaelsfairbury.org), so Mass times, Confession times, news, and contact information for both communities are listed together. Parishioners of St. Mary are fully part of the life of the wider Fairbury-area Catholic community and the Diocese of Lincoln.
- Parent parish: St. Michael, Fairbury (807 F Street, Fairbury, NE 68352)
- Shared website: stmichaelsfairbury.org
- Shared mailing: PO Box 406, Fairbury, NE 68352
- Fairbury Deanery, Diocese of Lincoln
Visiting St. Mary, Alexandria
St. Mary sits on Amanda Street in the heart of Alexandria, a small town in Jefferson County in southeast Nebraska, between Fairbury to the south and Hebron to the north. Travelers approaching for Sunday Mass should plan to arrive a few minutes before 7:30 a.m. for Confession ahead of the 8:00 a.m. Mass. Anyone seeking the sacraments, registration, or information about CCD is welcome to contact the parish office through the number listed on the website.
- Street address: 511 Amanda Street, Alexandria, NE 68303
- Mailing address: PO Box 406, Fairbury, NE 68352
- Phone: (402) 729-2058
- Website: stmichaelsfairbury.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Ferdinand Lechleitnerfrom 1873
Missionary priest from Crete who began visiting the area and saying Mass in parishioners' homes.
- Father Joseph Mroczkowski
Pastor during whose tenure the parish plant was renovated in 1956.
- Father Anthony Turek1956–1988
Last pastor to reside in Alexandria; served 32 years.
- Rev. John Birkel
Listed as pastor of St. Mary on third-party parish directories (likely the immediate predecessor of Fr. Fulton).
- Rev. Justin Fultonfrom 2024
Appointed pastor of St. Michael, Fairbury and St. Mary, Alexandria by Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, effective June 17, 2024.