About St. Peter · Aurora, Kansas
St. Peter Parish is a small Catholic community in Aurora, Kansas, part of the Diocese of Salina and clustered with Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Concordia and St. Edward's. Founded in 1875 by French-Canadian settlers who had arrived in the Elm Creek area in 1870, the parish grew from house Masses offered by Father Louis Mollier beginning in 1873. After the original church was destroyed by an Easter Sunday tornado in 1909, Father Pierre Fortier rebuilt it in brick the very next year, and the parish has continued serving the rural north-central Kansas community ever since — most recently celebrating its 150th anniversary.
- Established
- 1875
- Patron
- St. Peter (Apostle)
- Rector
- Fr. Michael Leiker
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salina
Why belong here
St. Peter is a small but deeply rooted parish where worshippers know one another across generations, continuing a Catholic tradition in rural north-central Kansas that stretches back to 1875. The parish offers Sunday Mass on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, a Tuesday evening Mass on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd weeks with Eucharistic Adoration on the 1st and 3rd, and regular confession before every Mass. Sharing a pastor, staff, website, and bulletin with Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Concordia and St. Edward's, the cluster keeps the parish vibrant even with a small population — and recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, a testament to the loyalty of its families.
Mass times at St. Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:00 – 8:20 am (before Sunday Mass)
- Tuesday: 6:00 – 6:20 pm (before Tuesday Mass)
Adoration times
- Tuesday: 7:00 pm (1st & 3rd Tuesdays, following 6:30 pm Mass)
History of St. Peter Parish
St. Peter traces its origins to 1870, when French-Canadian settlers arrived in the Elm Creek area of north-central Kansas. Three years later, in 1873, Father Louis Mollier began offering Mass in the settlers' homes, and in 1875 the community built its first church. When the railroad arrived more than three miles to the southwest in 1892, the entire town — and the church with it — moved to the new site. The town took the name Aurora because the railroad supply camp's spotlights lit up the prairie like the Northern Lights.
The 1909 Tornado and the 1910 Brick Church
On Easter Sunday evening in 1909, immediately following vespers and benediction, a tornado struck the parish just as Father Pierre Fortier was walking through the church door. The church was demolished and Father Fortier was reportedly carried about 60 feet by the winds but was left unhurt. He immediately began building a new brick church, which was completed in 1910. Lumber salvaged from the destroyed church was repurposed to build a convent for the sisters who staffed the parish school. Father Fortier had served the parish since 1884 and remained until his death at age 60 in 1912.
- Original wooden church destroyed Easter Sunday 1909
- Current brick church completed 1910
- Salvaged lumber used for new convent
Parish School and the Sisters of St. Joseph
A parish school was started in 1904 and was staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. It continued as a center of Catholic education for more than six decades before closing in 1966. The convent for the sisters was built in 1910 from lumber salvaged after the tornado.
- School opened 1904
- Staffed by Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia
- School closed 1966
Parish Cluster
St. Peter is clustered with Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Concordia and St. Edward's. The parishes share a priest, office staff, website, and weekly bulletin, helping sustain regular Mass and sacramental ministry in the rural north-central Kansas region.
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help — Concordia
- St. Edward's
- Shared pastor, staff, website and bulletin
150th Anniversary Celebration
St. Peter Parish celebrated its 150th anniversary with a special celebration on the weekend of the event; photos from the celebration were shared on the cluster website. The milestone marked 150 years since the first church was built in 1875 for the French-Canadian Catholic community that had begun gathering in 1870.
- Founded 1875
- 150th anniversary celebrated 2025
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Louis Mollierfrom 1873
Early missionary priest; first offered Mass in settlers' homes in the Elm Creek settlement.
- Father Pierre Fortier1884–1912
Appointed to the parish in 1884; rebuilt the brick church after the 1909 tornado; died at age 60 in 1912.
- Msgr. Samuel Fraser1929–1958
Long-serving pastor; avid botanist who collected 1,300+ plant specimens and co-authored a book on Kansas plants.
- Fr. Joseph Kieffer
Listed as pastor in January 2024 bulletin for the cluster; current pastor of record on the Diocese of Salina page is Fr. Michael Leiker.