About St. Michael · Chapman, Kansas
St. Michael's Catholic Church is a small parish in Chapman, Kansas, belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Salina. Founded in 1883 and made a full parish in 1886, it traces its Catholic roots in the Chapman Creek area back to the late 1850s, when Jesuit missionaries first celebrated Mass for settlers and Native Americans. The parish is one of four Christian churches in Chapman and is the only one that was spared by the devastating June 2008 tornado. Today it serves a multi-parish grouping alongside St. Andrew in Abilene and St. Francis Xavier in Junction City, and it remains active in worship, religious education, community outreach, and the upkeep of the historic St. Patrick's Cemetery site.
- Established
- 1883
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel
- Rector
- Father Peter O'Donnell
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Salina
Why belong here
St. Michael's is a small, close-knit parish family in the heart of Kansas wheat country with a remarkable 140+ year story. Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m. is the gathering point, with weekday Communion services Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 a.m. and a Sunday-morning Rosary at 8:30 a.m. Members are welcomed into ministries like Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Isabella, Ladies of St. Michael's, CYO, and parish commissions on liturgy, family life, education, finance, and cemetery care — plus an active program of religious education, a food pantry for the Dickinson County area, and outreach to the San Lorenzo Mission in New Mexico and a sponsored child through Unbound.
Mass times at St. Michael
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:30 am – 8:50 am (before Mass)
- By appointment
Parish History
Catholic life in the Chapman area began a quarter-century before St. Michael's Parish itself. Jesuit missionaries first visited in 1859, Father Louis Dumortier built the stone St. Patrick's Church (completed 1866), and the parish itself was dedicated in 1883, becoming a resident parish in 1886. The parish's detailed timeline — from the parish house of 1888 and stained-glass windows of 1892 to the 2008 tornado and the post-tornado restoration through 2022 — is preserved on the parish website and shows a community that has continually rebuilt and renewed its facilities.
- 1859 — St. Patrick Mission Church organized
- 1861–1866 — St. Patrick's stone church built
- 1883 — St. Michael Mission Church dedicated
- 1886 — St. Michael becomes a resident parish
- 1888 — Parish house constructed
- 1892 — Stained-glass windows installed
- 1906 — Knights of Columbus charter
- 1912 — Bell tower added
- 1925 — Daughters of Isabella charter
- 1931 — St. Patrick's restored
- 1961 — St. Michael's renovation completed
- 1966 — Parish Center constructed
- 1987 — St. Patrick's listed on National Register of Historic Places
- 1990 — Daughters of Isabella merge with St. Andrew's, Abilene
- 1998 — St. Michael's church renovation completed
- 2008 — Tornado destroys St. Patrick's; damages parish house, center, cemetery
- 2010 — St. Patrick's memorial dedicated; stained-glass restoration complete
- 2018–2022 — Ongoing building upgrades (sound, hearing, pews, alarms, stained-glass inspection)
Clergy and Parish Staff
Father Peter O'Donnell serves as the parish's priest supervisor (Pastor), assisted by Parochial Vicars Father Kade Megaffin and Father Vincent John, CMI. Father O'Donnell is also pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Abilene and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Junction City, and serves as Judicial Vicar and Archivist for the diocese. Father Megaffin was ordained May 22, 2010 by Bishop Paul Coakley at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina; Father Vincent John, CMI, was ordained by Bishop Gerald Vincke on May 31, 2025.
- Father Peter O'Donnell — Pastor / Priest Supervisor
- Father Kade Megaffin — Parochial Vicar
- Father Vincent John, CMI — Parochial Vicar
Organizations and Fraternal Groups
Three long-standing organizations anchor parish life for adults and youth. The Knights of Columbus (chartered 1906) emphasize charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism and family. Daughters of Isabella (chartered 1925) is dedicated to unity, friendship and charity and is now merged with St. Andrew's in Abilene. The Ladies of St. Michael's welcomes all women of the parish for religious, educational, and social activities. For high-school youth, the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) gathers for social and spiritual activities.
- Knights of Columbus — meets 2nd Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (Grand Knight: Jonathan Norton, 785-307-2980)
- Daughters of Isabella — meets 2nd Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at St. Andrew's, Abilene (Contact: Theresa Brierton, 785-479-6559)
- Ladies of St. Michael's — meets Sundays after Mass when needed (Contact: Naomi Larouche, 785-307-4321)
- CYO (high school youth) — Sponsor: Brenda Blocker, 785-922-7025
Faith Formation and Religious Education
The parish runs a Pre-K through 12 Religious Education program along with an Adult Discussion Group. An Education Commission supports the Director of Religious Education by recruiting catechists and providing materials. Sacramental preparation (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation) is coordinated through the parish office, and job postings in early 2026 indicate openings for an Office Coordinator and Director of Religious Education, reflecting ongoing investment in faith formation.
- Pre-K through 12 Religious Education
- Adult Discussion Group
- Sacramental preparation for Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation
Outreach and Service
St. Michael's lives out its mission through a wide network of local and far-reaching service projects. The parish food pantry collects non-perishable food and toiletries during Advent and the month of July for the Dickinson County area and also accepts monetary donations for utility assistance. The parish hosts Red Cross blood drives with other local churches, brings Communion to shut-ins, leads a Prayer Chain that emails parishioners' prayer requests, and provides ecumenical services at the Chapman Valley Manor six times a year. Mission outreach includes monthly support to the San Lorenzo Mission in New Mexico (since 2000) and the sponsorship of a child named Maynor through Unbound.
- Food Pantry — Advent and July collections; utility assistance donations accepted
- Communion to Shut-Ins — contact Marita in the parish office
- Ecumenical Services at Chapman Valley Manor — 10:00 a.m., 4th Sunday of Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec
- Red Cross Blood Drives — hosted with other local churches; sign up at 1-800-733-2767
- Prayer Chain — emailed to all parishioners on request
- San Lorenzo Mission, Tinaja, NM — monthly donations since 2000
- Maynor sponsorship through Unbound (Christian Foundation for Children and Aging)
Parish Committees and Governance
Lay leadership is organized into commissions and councils that plan, evaluate, and implement the life of the parish. The Parish Pastoral Council offers recommendations and support to the Pastor and Parish Life Coordinator; the Finance Council oversees the church's finances. Specialized commissions care for liturgy and parish renewal, education, family life and respect life, maintenance and improvement of parish properties, and the ongoing care of the cemetery.
- Parish Pastoral Council — Chair: Sandy Barbee (785-263-5273)
- Finance Council — Chair: Tim Wieters (785-565-1254)
- Liturgy Commission / Parish Renewal
- Education Commission — Chair: Laurie McLaughlin (785-770-7202)
- Family Life / Respect Life Commission
- Maintenance / Improvement Commission — Chair: Liz Sites (785-210-5402)
- Cemetery Commission — Chair: Terry Root (785-922-6886)
- Bazaar Subcommittee — Chair: Kyle Cook (785-893-1986)
St. Patrick's Cemetery and Memorial
The historic St. Patrick's Cemetery, located northeast of town next to the original St. Patrick's stone church, is cared for by the parish's Cemetery Commission. Twenty-four flag poles line its driveway. After the 2008 tornado destroyed St. Patrick's Chapel, a memorial at the site was dedicated in 2010, and the parish has continued to honor the early pioneers buried there — most notably with the framed historical map of St. Patrick's Cemetery displayed in the Parish Center.
- St. Patrick's Cemetery — northeast of Chapman
- St. Patrick's Memorial dedicated 2010
- 24 flag poles along the cemetery driveway (2007)
Facilities and Campus
The parish campus includes the historic St. Michael's Church (with its Celtic Cross and brass history plaque on the renovated front facade), the parish house (built 1888, with first-floor renovation in 1991, second-floor renovation in 1994, new windows in 2015, and porch remodel in 2010), and the Parish Center (built 1966, renovated in phases starting 2000, interior refreshed 2011, bathrooms redone 2018, sound and hearing-assist systems upgraded 2018). After the 2008 tornado, four modular units housed on church property were repurposed as classroom space for Chapman Grade School grades K–3, with the Parish Center hosting fourth grade, music, office, lunchroom, physical education, and support services. Since 2011 the parish center has returned fully to parish use and displays a painting of St. Michael by Jean Scanlan, framed parish Christmas-card paintings, a wood-tone crucifix with an Italian-made Leonardo Corpus, and a restored Scanlan stained-glass window.
- St. Michael's Church (1883) — bell tower (1912), stained glass (1892), Celtic Cross and brass history plaque (2004)
- Parish House (1888) — fully renovated 1991–2015
- Parish Center (1966) — major renovations 2000–2018; smoke/fire alarm system installed 2022
- St. Patrick's Cemetery memorial site (dedicated 2010)
Getting Involved
St. Michael's explicitly welcomes those seeking a new church home or returning after time away. The parish website invites visitors to worship with them and lists many ways to get involved: joining one of the three parish organizations, serving on a commission, signing up for blood drives or the food pantry, joining the Prayer Chain, or helping with religious education. Contact information for each ministry lead is published on the parish website.
- Worship — Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m.
- Join a parish organization (Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Isabella, Ladies of St. Michael's, CYO)
- Serve on a commission or council
- Volunteer for the Food Pantry, Blood Drive, or Prayer Chain
- Help with Religious Education (catechist roles)