About St. Peter · Clarks, Nebraska
St. Peter Parish is a small rural Roman Catholic parish in the village of Clarks, Merrick County, Nebraska, part of the Archdiocese of Omaha. It traces its roots to a Catholic mission established in the late 1860s by a missionary priest from Columbus, and was served out of private homes and a frame church for decades before the present brick church was completed and dedicated in 1927. Today the parish is part of Rural Family J of the archdiocese's Families of Parishes, sharing a pastor with neighboring St. Peter in Fullerton and St. Michael in Central City, and (since June 2023) celebrating weekend Mass at those clustered parishes.
- Established
- 1869
- Patron
- Saint Peter (the Apostle)
- Rector
- Rev. William D. L'Heureux
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha (Rural Family J)
Why belong here
St. Peter's offers the small-town, multigenerational feel of a historic prairie parish within a tight cluster of country Catholic communities — a place where most families know each other and the same priests have shepherded the cluster for years. Parishioners benefit from being able to attend weekend Mass at the neighboring St. Peter in Fullerton or St. Michael in Central City, a Wednesday-evening religious education program (6:30–7:30 p.m., September through April) for the parish's children, and Saturday-evening confession offered in the cluster. It is a fitting spiritual home for anyone in the Clarks / Merrick County area seeking the traditional devotions, rural fellowship, and continuity of a parish that has been worshipping on the same block since 1872.
Mass times at St. Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm (at the cluster parish site, per Archdiocese of Omaha Find-a-Parish listing)
History of St. Peter Parish, Clarks
St. Peter's roots go back to the late 1860s, when a missionary priest from Columbus, Father Ryan, celebrated the first Mass in the home of John Higgins on September 21, 1869. In 1871 the Union Pacific Railroad deeded a plot of land to Higgins and Luke Lamb, trustees of the new Catholic Church of Clarksville, and in early 1872 a small frame church was built. The mission was administered in turn by Father Geary (1881, when it numbered 23 families), Fathers Gleason, Delfors, and O'Connor, all served out of Central City. The first Catholic Town Cemetery burial — Edward Higgins — was recorded in December 1888. Father John Kunkel's 1918 appointment brought stability: he incorporated the parish and, eight years later in 1927, oversaw construction of the present brick church, completed and dedicated at a cost of about $35,000.
- 1869: First Mass — Father Ryan, in the home of John Higgins
- 1871: U.P. Railroad land deed to Higgins and Lamb, trustees
- 1872: Frame church built on Lot 5, Block 12, Clarksville (now Clarks)
- 1881: Father Geary serves 23 families
- 1888: First Catholic Town Cemetery burial — Edward Higgins
- 1918: Father John Kunkel appointed; parish incorporated
- 1927: Present brick church completed and dedicated
The Present Church (1927) and Rectory (1962)
The 1927 brick church replaced the 1872 frame building on the same lot, with the parishioners themselves hauling all material from the railroad depot and excavating the basement by hand. The new building was budgeted at about $35,000. In 1947 high underground water pressure made it necessary to lay a new concrete floor in the basement, and during the mid-1960s interior redecoration brought new pews, lighting, carpeting and tiling (completed 1966). A new brick rectory was built and occupied by Father John Koros on April 29, 1962.
- 1927 brick church, cost ~$35,000
- 1947 new concrete floor in church basement
- 1962 new brick rectory (occupied April 29, 1962)
- 1966 interior redecoration (pews, lighting, carpet, tiling)
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Religious education has been a parish ministry since the late 19th century, when the Sisters from Notre Dame Convent in Omaha traveled in to teach the children. By the 1960s the parish was using Sisters of Saint Joseph, and in 1967 St. Peter's joined four other area Catholic parishes to organize a shared Catechetical Center for the religious training of the children. In the mid-1970s the program enrolled sixty-four children at Saint Peter's Church. Today, religious-education classes are held Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., September through April, for the parish's children.
- Sisters from Notre Dame Convent (Omaha) — early religious teaching
- Sisters of Saint Joseph — 1960s teaching staff
- 1967: shared Catechetical Center organized with four other parishes
- 64 children enrolled in the mid-1970s
- Wednesday CCD, 6:30–7:30 p.m., September–April (current)
Rural Family J and the 2023 Reorganization
In 2023 the Archdiocese of Omaha's 'Journey of Faith' reorganization grouped parishes into 33 Families of Parishes. St. Peter Clarks was placed in Rural Family J with St. Peter (Fullerton), St. Michael (Central City), St. Edward (St. Edward), St. Rose of Lima (Genoa), Ss. Peter and Paul (Krakow), and St. Lawrence (Silver Creek). Father David Fulton, previously pastor of the Clarks–Fullerton–Central City cluster, was reassigned as senior associate pastor in Urban Family M, and Father William D. L'Heureux took on duties as pastor of all three of the St. Peter Clarks / St. Peter Fullerton / St. Michael Central City parishes. As of June 1, 2023, weekend Masses in the cluster are celebrated at the Fullerton and Central City parish locations rather than in Clarks itself, and Saturday confessions are offered 4:45–5:15 p.m. at the cluster parish site.
- Rural Family J parishes: St. Peter (Clarks), St. Peter (Fullerton), St. Michael (Central City), St. Edward (St. Edward), St. Rose of Lima (Genoa), Ss. Peter and Paul (Krakow), St. Lawrence (Silver Creek)
- Father David Fulton reassigned to Urban Family M, 2023
- Father William D. L'Heureux named pastor of the three-parish cluster, July 1, 2023
- Weekend Masses moved to Fullerton and Central City, June 1, 2023
- Saturday confession 4:45–5:15 p.m. in the cluster
Clarks, Nebraska — Community Context
St. Peter's Catholic Church is listed by the Village of Clarks as one of the village's community organizations, alongside the Congregational Church and the Clarks United Methodist Church. The village of Clarks sits in Merrick County in central Nebraska, on U.S. Route 30 (the historic Lincoln Highway), and the parish has historically shared ministry with the Methodist congregation — in 1929 the two churches agreed to share ministers, an arrangement that lasted until 1932.
- Listed on the Village of Clarks community-organization page
- 1929–1932: shared-ministry arrangement with the Methodist Church
- 425 Amity Street / 302 N. Dixon St. (parish office), Clarks, NE 68628
- Phone (308) 536-2574
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Ryan1869
Missionary priest from Columbus, Nebraska; celebrated the first recorded Mass in Clarks on September 21 in the home of John Higgins, establishing the Catholic mission.
- Father Geary1881
Served the mission when it numbered about 23 families; administered from Central City.
- Father Gleasonafter 1881
One of the early missionary pastors serving the Clarks mission from Central City in the late 19th century.
- Father Delforslate 19th century
Served the Clarks mission in the late 1800s; administered from Central City.
- Father O'Connorlate 19th century
Another of the late-19th-century missionary pastors at St. Peter's, administered from Central City.
- Father John Kunkel1918–1948
Incorporated the present parish in 1918; oversaw construction and 1927 dedication of the brick church; served 30 years.
- Father Paul KannabySeptember 23, 1948 – June 1961
Assigned Sept. 23, 1948; retired in 1961; died in 1967.
- Father John KorosJune 1961 – c. 1965
Occupied the newly built brick rectory on April 29, 1962.
- Father Richard A. Wolbach1965 –
Assigned pastor in 1965; later transferred to St. Francis Parish in Omaha in 1948-era aftermath (per parish narrative).
- Father George Kemplerafter Wolbach
Appointed temporary administrator in the transition following Wolbach.
- Father John Mines1967 – c. early 1970s
Appointed 1967; health failed after a few years, retired and died in 1972.
- Father Joseph L. KaupJune 16, 1971 –
Native of Stuart, Nebraska; formerly served Our Lady of the Resurrection, Fullerton; was present pastor at the time of the 1976 Heritage of Clarks history.
- Father David Fultonc. 2010s – 2023
Pastor of the St. Michael Central City / St. Peter Fullerton / St. Peter Clarks cluster; reassigned as senior associate pastor in Urban Family M in the 2023 archdiocesan assignments.
- Father William D. L'Heureux2023 – present
Took on additional duties as pastor of St. Peter Clarks, St. Peter Fullerton, and St. Michael Central City effective July 1, 2023; continues in that role per the April 2025 archdiocesan directory.