About St. Patrick · Diamondville, Wyoming
St. Patrick Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish of the Diocese of Cheyenne serving the communities of Diamondville and Kemmerer in southwest Wyoming. Though long referred to as the 'Kemmerer parish,' the current church building sits just across the town line in Diamondville at 65 McGovern Avenue. It is led by Rev. David J. Erickson, pastor, with Mass celebrated in English seven days a week, Saturday confessions, and monthly First Friday adoration. The parish traces its roots to the first Mass in Kemmerer celebrated by Fr. Peter Casey in 1898 and remains the spiritual hub for Catholics across the surrounding high-desert region.
- Established
- 1900
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Rev. David J. Erickson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Cheyenne
Why belong here
St. Patrick's offers daily Mass (Monday through Saturday at 7:00 AM, plus a Saturday Vigil at 5:30 PM and Sunday at 9:00 AM) in a small, tight-knit southwestern Wyoming faith community with deep mining-town roots. Parishioners benefit from the convenience of Saturday confessions (4:00–4:45 PM, or by appointment), monthly First Friday Eucharistic Adoration, and the pastoral care of a pastor who also reaches Catholics across an enormous mission territory. For visitors passing through southwest Wyoming, it is a welcoming Roman-Latin rite parish of the Diocese of Cheyenne and a living link to the Catholic heritage brought to the Hamsfork valley by Irish coal-country settlers more than a century ago.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Friday 12:00 PM — First Friday of the month
Parish History & Heritage
Catholic faith in southwest Wyoming predates the parish itself. Jesuit missionary Fr. Pierre DeSmet celebrated the first Mass in the region near present-day Daniel, Wyoming on July 5, 1840 — long before Wyoming was a territory and decades before the area was settled. Coal was discovered near the Hamsfork River in the 1860s, and the Diamond Coke & Coal Company settled Diamondville in 1894. Kemmerer was incorporated in 1898, and Fr. Peter Casey celebrated the first local Mass at Keenan's Opera House that same year. The original St. Patrick's church, at Sage and Sapphire Streets, was dedicated in 1900, the parish was formally incorporated in 1901, and its 1912 bell still rings today from the bell tower of the present church.
- First Mass in Kemmerer: 1898 by Fr. Peter Casey at Keenan's Opera House
- Original St. Patrick's church dedicated: 1900 (Sage & Sapphire Streets)
- First baptism at original church: May 6, 1900
- Parish incorporated: 1901
- Parish bell acquired: 1912 — still housed in the present bell tower
- Current church built: 1973, on McGovern Avenue in Diamondville
- Bell tower added to present church: 1988
Mission Territory of the Kemmerer-Diamondville Parish
At its height, St. Patrick's Kemmerer/Diamondville was arguably the largest Catholic parish in the United States by area — over 12,000 square miles of high-desert Wyoming. It mothered a chain of missions that grew into independent parishes over the course of the twentieth century.
- St. Dominic's, Cokeville — mission church built 1919
- St. Anne's, Big Piney — mission of Kemmerer
- Our Lady of the Mountains, Jackson — served from Kemmerer until 1955, when it was erected as its own parish with Fr. James Doudican as first resident pastor
- Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Moran (Jackson Lake) — log chapel dedicated August 15, 1937, by Msgr. Duane Hunt of Salt Lake City; built with help from a $1,500 Catholic Church Extension Society donation in the name of Mr. and Mrs. James Hudson
Native Priests of St. Patrick's
St. Patrick's Kemmerer/Diamondville has produced five priests from among its own parishioners — a remarkable record for a small coal-country parish.
- Fr. Eugene Hall
- Fr. Robert Head
- Fr. Charles Taylor (ordained 1953)
- Fr. William Gianola (ordained 1962)
- Fr. Farrell Peternal (ordained 1984)
Visit, Contact & Directions
The parish office can be reached by phone at (307) 877-4573 (fax 307-877-3354) or by email at [email protected]. While the church is physically located at 65 McGovern Avenue in Diamondville, its official mailing address is P.O. Box 311, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Travelers heading north on US 189 simply turn left (west) onto Antelope Street — the road separating the two towns — go one block west, and the church is on the left.
- Physical address: 65 McGovern Ave., Diamondville, WY 83116
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 311, Kemmerer, WY 83101
- Phone: (307) 877-4573
- Fax: (307) 877-3354
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocese of Cheyenne parish profile: dcwy.org/parishfinder
- Facebook: facebook.com/pages/St-Patricks-Catholic-Church/180350542051056
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Golden
Early pastor, served before 1900
- Fr. Blanik
Early pastor
- Fr. Woldene
Early pastor
- Fr. Duchesneau
Early pastor
- Fr. Kennedy
Early pastor
- Fr. Barrett
Early pastor
- Fr. Lavelle1906-
Pastor from 1906
- Fr. Duffy1910-
Pastor from 1910
- Fr. Lynch1911-
Pastor from 1911
- Fr. Gerard Schellinger1919, again 1935
Pastor 1919 and again in 1935
- Fr. Short1921, again 1924
Pastor 1921 and again in 1924
- Fr. Szymanski1923-
Pastor from 1923
- Fr. McDevitt1933-
Pastor from 1933
- Fr. O'Connor1940-
Pastor from 1940
- Fr. Bartek1972-
Pastor from 1972 — oversaw transition era near new 1973 church
- Fr. Chleborad1975-
Pastor from 1975
- Fr. Cleary1978-
Pastor from 1978
- Fr. Gerald Sullivan1982-
Pastor from 1982
- Fr. Espenshade1989-
Pastor from 1989
- Fr. Taylor1993-
Pastor from 1993 (native son, ordained 1953)
- Fr. John Murray1998-
Pastor from 1998; his 40th jubilee of ordination celebrated at the parish on May 25, 2000
- Fr. Randy Oswaldc. 2011
Pastor in 2011; later transferred to Our Lady of the Mountains, Jackson