About St. Patrick Mission · Ogden, Kansas
St. Patrick Mission is a small Catholic mission church in Ogden, Kansas, historically the oldest parish in what is today the Diocese of Salina. Its roots reach back to 1854, when a Jesuit from St. Mary's began riding out to Fort Riley once a month to say Mass, and to 1859, when Jesuit Father Louis Dumortier began ministering to the Catholic settlers of the upper Kaw River valley. Originally named for the Immaculate Conception, the parish was later known as St. Bridget's and finally as St. Patrick's. Since 1989 it has been served as a mission of Seven Dolors Parish in nearby Manhattan, and Mass continues to be celebrated in the stone church that has anchored the small Ogden community for more than a century.
- Established
- 1859
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salina
Why belong here
St. Patrick Mission offers a chance to belong to the oldest parish in the Diocese of Salina and a living link to the Jesuit missionary foundations of 1859. Parishioners still worship in the same limestone walls built in 1909 by Fr. James M. Reade, expanded after the 1938 fire and rededicated in 1940, and the adjacent 1866 stone church — one of Father Dumortier's original five mission churches — survives as part of the parish hall. As a mission of Seven Dolors Parish in Manhattan, St. Patrick's offers a small, rooted community life alongside the wider resources of a larger parish, with weekly Saturday Vigil Mass and ongoing care by the Seven Dolors pastor and his associates.
Mass times at St. Patrick Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:40–4:05 PM (First Saturdays only)
A Short History of St. Patrick's Parish
The story of St. Patrick's begins with the building of Fort Riley in 1853. Irish and German immigrant stone masons and carpenters, employed in the construction of the fort, settled in and around the small settlement of Ogden. In 1854, at the invitation of the commandant Major Ogden, a priest from the Jesuit house at St. Mary's began to ride out once a month to say Mass at the post. As Catholic families multiplied in the upper Kaw River valley, Ogden became a regular mission station, served initially by Jesuit Father Duerinck, who is thought to have performed the first marriage in Ogden. Father Louis Dumortier, SJ, took up the missionary territory in 1859, recording his first baptism at Ogden in December of that year. Father Dumortier built five stone churches in the region — at Ogden, Rock Creek, Elbow west of Manhattan, Junction City, and near Chapman — and his diary and account book confirm that the Ogden church was finished in 1866. That original Church of the Immaculate Conception, measuring 30 × 18 feet, served twenty-five families and remains the only one of those five original churches still standing, today forming the east wing of the parish hall.
From Jesuit Mission to Diocese of Salina
Five or six Jesuits followed Father Dumortier in the early decades. In 1876 the parish was transferred from the Jesuits to the Diocese of Leavenworth under Bishop Fink. In 1881 Bishop Fink appointed Fr. A. T. Ennis resident pastor at neighboring Manhattan and, foreseeing that Manhattan would become the larger center, made Ogden a mission even though it then had a larger congregation. In 1897 Riley County became part of the Diocese of Concordia, and the parish eventually fell within today's Diocese of Salina.
The 1909 Church and the 1938 Fire
By 1907 the original 1866 stone church was too small for the growing congregation. That year Fr. James M. Reade became pastor, and in 1909 he built the limestone church that still stands. On March 18, 1938 a fire gutted the structure; Fr. Joseph Browne declined to remain and rebuild, so the new pastor Fr. Edmund Arpin did so in 1939, reusing the standing walls, enlarging the building, and adding the bell tower. Bishop Frank Thill rededicated the rebuilt church on September 19, 1940. The current altars and the re-fashioned sanctuary reflect the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council, and the parish hall was renovated and the 1866 church restored in 2000.
Mission of Seven Dolors Parish
St. Patrick's had a resident priest continuously from 1913 to 1989. In 1989, when Fr. Jerome Morgan became pastor of Seven Dolors Parish in Manhattan, St. Patrick's was formally made a mission of Seven Dolors and has since been served by the Seven Dolors pastor and his associates. The Seven Dolors parish website (sevendolors.com) lists St. Patrick's among its missions and publishes the Ogden Mass schedule. The Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:15 PM remains the regular weekly celebration for the Ogden community.
Contact & Location
St. Patrick Mission is located at 303 16th Street, at the corner of 16th and Walnut Streets in Ogden, Kansas 66517. The parish is administered through Seven Dolors Catholic Parish in Manhattan; the Seven Dolors parish office can be reached at (785) 565-5000, and the mailing address for parish business is 731 Pierre Street, Manhattan, KS 66502. Seven Dolors worships at 221 S. Juliette Avenue, Manhattan.
- Address: 303 16th St. (16th & Walnut), Ogden, KS 66517
- Phone: (785) 565-5000 (Seven Dolors Parish office)
- Parish website: https://sevendolors.com
- Diocese: Diocese of Salina
Anniversary Milestones
St. Patrick's has marked its major anniversaries with community celebrations. On December 8, 1966, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the parish commemorated the 100th anniversary of the original 1866 dedication. On March 15, 2009, Bishop Paul S. Coakley celebrated a Mass honoring three anniversaries at once: the 150th of the parish's founding, the 143rd of the original 1866 stone church, and the 100th of the 1909 church rebuilt after the 1938 fire.
- 1966 — 100th anniversary of the 1866 dedication
- 2000 — Restoration and refurbishment of the 1866 stone church and parish hall
- 2003 — Installation of the electronic carillon
- 2009 — 150th anniversary Mass with Bishop Paul S. Coakley
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Louis Dumortier, SJfrom 1859
Jesuit missionary from St. Mary's; built five stone churches in the region and founded the parish; first baptism at Ogden in December 1859.
- Fr. Joseph Rimmele, SJ
Noteworthy early Jesuit who wrote to Fr. De Smet in 1869 about the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Ogden.
- Fr. A. T. Ennisfrom 1881
Appointed resident pastor at Manhattan by Bishop Fink, who made Ogden a mission.
- Fr. James M. Readefrom 1907
Built the 1909 stone church that still stands.
- Fr. Edmund Arpin1938–1947 (approx.)
Rebuilt and enlarged the church after the March 18, 1938 fire; added the bell tower.
- Msgr. Cornelius Brownapprox. 1947–1963
Built the current altars and enlarged/re-fashioned the sanctuary after Vatican II.
- Fr. John Whittyapprox. 1947–1964
Succeeded Msgr. Brown; served about 17 years.
- Fr. Merlin Kieffer1964–1971
Compiled the parish history; commemorated the 100th anniversary of the 1866 dedication on Dec. 8, 1966.
- Msgr. Raymond Menard1971 (several months)
- Fr. Marvin Kaiser1971–1973
- Fr. Larry Grennan1973–1975
- Msgr. Thomas Keogan (with Fr. Chris Conklin)1975–1976
- Fr. Carl Kramer1976–1982
Native son of the parish.
- Fr. Donald McCarthy1982–1988
- Fr. Reginald Sanders, OSB1988–1989
Benedictine priest; last resident pastor before the parish became a mission of Seven Dolors.
- Fr. Jerome Morgan1989–1991
Pastor at Seven Dolors when St. Patrick's became a mission; first Seven Dolors pastor listed for Ogden.
- Fr. Keith Weberearly 1990s (brief)
Associate at Seven Dolors who served the mission briefly.
- Fr. Larry Grennan1993–2005
Returned as Seven Dolors pastor overseeing the mission; associates included Joe Popelka, Fr. Mark Wesley, Fr. David Metz, Fr. Urbano Tin, and Fr. Michael Elanjimattathil.
- Fr. Joseph S. Popelkafrom 2005
Seven Dolors pastor under whom Bishop Emeritus George K. Fitzsimons took up residence in the rectory on July 1, 2005.
- Bishop Emeritus George K. Fitzsimonsfrom July 1, 2005
Resident at the rectory assisting with the parish.