About St. Mary Mission (Holyrood) · Holyrood, Kansas
St. Mary Mission (also called St. Mary Parish) is a small Catholic community at 202 South Frank Street in Holyrood, Kansas, in the heart of the state's Czech, German and Irish farming country. It is the southernmost parish of the Catholic Diocese of Salina and is closely twinned with Holy Name of Jesus in Bushton (Wichita Diocese) and Immaculate Conception in Claflin (Dodge City Diocese), the three parishes lying within about seven miles of each other. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:00 a.m. and weekday Mass on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m., with confessions heard on the first Sunday of each month at 7:30 a.m. The parish is currently administered by Fr. Lourthu Antony Kulandaijesu, HGN, and shares a regional Catholic Facebook page (facebook.com/wilsoncatholic/) with the neighboring Wilson-area mission communities.
- Established
- 1886
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (the parish is named St. Mary's; the original church was called the Church of the Holy Rood / Holy Cross)
- Rector
- Fr. Lourthu Antony Kulandaijesu, HGN (Parish Administrator, as listed by the Diocese of Salina)
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Salina
Why belong here
St. Mary Mission is a small, historic prairie parish where generations of Holyrood-area farming families have worshipped together since 1886. Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m. is at the heart of parish life, complemented by weekday Mass on Thursdays and monthly confession before Sunday Mass. The parish is part of a tight tri-parish Catholic cluster with Holy Name of Jesus in Bushton and Immaculate Conception in Claflin, so new families quickly become part of a wider rural Catholic community.
Mass times at St. Mary Mission (Holyrood)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Sunday of each month at 7:30 AM (Diocese of Salina)
- Sundays 7:45 AM – 7:55 AM before the 8:00 AM Mass (per Discover Mass)
History of St. Mary Parish, Holyrood
St. Mary's story begins with the founding of Holyrood itself. The town was settled in 1874 — originally half a mile south of its present location — first by Irish families who had emigrated from Holyrood, Ontario, and soon after by German and Czech homesteaders. Mass was being celebrated in private farm homes as early as 1880 by a priest who traveled in from Little River. The first church building went up in 1886 (some sources also give 1889), and the parish was served by Father Karel Dragoun, a Czech-speaking priest based in nearby Wilson. The original structure, though renovated many times, still serves the parish as its church today.
- First Mass in Holyrood: ~1880, in private homes, by a priest from Little River
- First church built: 1886
- First serving priest: Father Karel Dragoun, a Czech-speaking priest based in Wilson
- Original name: Church of the Holy Rood (Cross)
- Town of Holyrood itself founded 1874 by Irish settlers from Holyrood, Ontario
Building & Property
The original 1886 church building, though continuously renovated, remains the parish's church. Among the major upgrades were the installation of stained-glass windows in the early 1930s, their restoration some forty years later, and the addition of a steeple in 1936. In 1986 — on the parish's centennial — the community purchased the house directly across the street from the church and converted it for parish meetings and religious-education instruction, giving St. Mary's a dedicated space for faith formation alongside its worship space.
- Stained-glass windows installed: early 1930s
- Windows restored: ~1970s (40 years later)
- Steeple added: 1936
- Parish house across the street purchased and remodeled: 1986
Regional Catholic Cluster
St. Mary's is the southernmost parish in the Diocese of Salina and maintains a long-standing partnership with two neighboring Catholic communities — Immaculate Conception Parish in Claflin (Dodge City Diocese) and Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Bushton (Wichita Diocese). The three parishes sit within about seven miles of each other on the Kansas prairie. Through the shared Facebook page facebook.com/wilsoncatholic/, St. Mary's is also linked online to the Wilson-area Salina Diocese mission parishes of St. Wenceslaus (Wilson) and St. Joseph (Dorrance).
- Immaculate Conception Parish — Claflin, KS (Dodge City Diocese)
- Holy Name of Jesus Parish — Bushton, KS (Wichita Diocese)
- St. Wenceslaus Parish — Wilson, KS (Diocese of Salina)
- St. Joseph Parish — Dorrance, KS (Diocese of Salina)
Clergy & Leadership
St. Mary's is currently administered by Fr. Lourthu Antony Kulandaijesu, HGN, listed by the Diocese of Salina as Parish Administrator. Third-party directories have also named Rev. Mathew Chacko, CMI, as pastor. The parish's first recorded priest was Father Karel Dragoun, a Czech-speaking priest based in Wilson, who began serving the community in 1886 when the first church was built.
- Parish Administrator: Fr. Lourthu Antony Kulandaijesu, HGN
- Also listed as Pastor in older directories: Rev. Mathew Chacko, CMI
- First priest: Father Karel Dragoun (Czech-speaking, based in Wilson)
Faith Formation & Parish Life
As a small mission parish, St. Mary's runs its religious-education and faith-formation programs out of the house across the street from the church, purchased and remodeled for that purpose in 1986. Parish meetings, catechism classes, and fellowship gatherings are all held in that converted parish house, which serves as the community's social and educational heart alongside the historic church building.
- Religious education classes held in the parish house across the street
- Parish meetings in the same converted house
- Fellowship with neighboring parishes in Bushton and Claflin
Visiting & Contact
St. Mary Mission welcomes visitors at 202 South Frank Street in Holyrood, Kansas. The parish can be reached by phone through the Diocese of Salina at 785-658-3364, and current news and announcements are posted on the shared regional Facebook page at facebook.com/wilsoncatholic/. As always with small rural parishes, parishioners are encouraged to call ahead to confirm Mass and confession times, especially around holy days and weather.
- Address: 202 S Frank St, Holyrood, KS 67450
- Phone: 785-658-3364
- Facebook: facebook.com/wilsoncatholic/
- Diocese: Catholic Diocese of Salina
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Karel Dragounfrom 1886
Czech-speaking priest based in Wilson; first priest to serve the Holyrood Catholic community after the first church was built in 1886.