About St. Peter · Fullerton, Nebraska
St. Peter Parish (historically known as Ecclesia Sancti Petri) is a Roman Catholic parish in Fullerton, the seat of Nance County in central Nebraska. Founded as a mission in 1887 and served by the Archdiocese of Omaha, the parish worships in a striking 1923 Romanesque Revival brick church listed as a historically significant property in the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey. Today St. Peter's is pastored in a yoked arrangement with neighboring parishes in the rural cluster the archdiocese calls 'Rural Family J.'
- Established
- 1887
- Patron
- Saint Peter (the Apostle)
- Rector
- Rev. William D. L'Heureux (current pastor of Rural Family J; Rev. Richard J. Whiteing served as pastor of St. Peter Fullerton and St. Peter Clarks for the eleven years preceding his 2024–2025 retirement)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
St. Peter Parish offers full-time Catholic worship and sacramental life in a small rural community, with daily Mass Tuesday through Friday, a Saturday vigil Mass, and a Sunday morning Mass — an unusually rich schedule for a parish of its size. As part of the Archdiocese of Omaha's 'Rural Family J' cluster it shares clergy and resources with neighboring parishes in Clarks and Central City, while keeping its own distinctive 1923 Romanesque Revival church building as the spiritual home of Fullerton-area Catholics. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed into a long-standing community with deep roots in the Polish Catholic heritage of Nance County.
Mass times at St. Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
History of St. Peter Parish
St. Peter Parish traces its origins to 1887, when Catholic settlers in the new town of Fullerton — platted just a decade earlier by Randall Fuller on former Pawnee reservation land and named the Nance County seat in 1879 — gathered as a mission of the Diocese of Omaha. Mass was first celebrated in homes and halls by visiting priests until the present brick church was completed in 1923. The parish is deeply intertwined with the Polish and central European Catholic settlement of Nance County, and many early families also worshipped at Saints Peter and Paul in nearby Krakow.
- 1887 — Mission established in Fullerton
- 1923 — Current Romanesque Revival brick church completed
- 1992 — Building surveyed and listed as Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey #NC02-066
- 2013 — Father Richard J. Whiteing appointed pastor
- 2024–2025 — Father Whiteing retires; Rev. William D. L'Heureux becomes pastor of Rural Family J
The Church Building (Ecclesia Sancti Petri)
The present St. Peter's Catholic Church is a 1923 brick Romanesque Revival building, one of Nance County's most architecturally distinguished houses of worship. Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey #NC02-066, it features masonry load-bearing construction, brick corbelling, horizontal stone banding, rough-faced stonework, and round-arched openings. The 1992 survey noted that aluminum siding had been applied to the exterior, compromising historical integrity, and that a newer rectory stood on the parish property.
- Style: Romanesque Revival
- Materials: Brick with stone trim
- Year: 1923
- NEHBS Number: NC02-066
- Survey designation: Ecclesia Sancti Petri
Mass and the Sacraments
The parish maintains a full liturgical schedule, with daily Mass Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 am, a Saturday vigil at 5:00 pm, and a Sunday morning Mass at 9:00 am. Confessions are heard every Saturday from 4:00 to 4:30 pm. The parish also celebrates baptisms, marriages, and anointing of the sick by arrangement with the pastor.
- Sunday Mass: 9:00 am
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00 pm
- Weekday Masses Tue–Fri: 8:00 am
- Confession: Saturday 4:00–4:30 pm
Parish Leadership and Clergy
St. Peter's is currently pastored as part of the Archdiocese of Omaha's 'Rural Family J' pastoral cluster. Rev. William D. L'Heureux is listed by the archdiocese as pastor of the cluster, which includes St. Peter in Fullerton, St. Peter in Clarks, and St. Michael in Central City. Deacon John F. Small assists the family of parishes. The parish's previous pastor, Rev. Richard J. Whiteing, served for eleven years before retiring in 2024/2025 due to Parkinson's disease.
- Pastor: Rev. William D. L'Heureux
- Deacon: John F. Small
- Previous pastor (2013–c. 2024): Rev. Richard J. Whiteing
Rural Family J and the Wider Cluster
St. Peter in Fullerton is one of five parishes in the archdiocese's 'Rural Family J' cluster. The cluster allows small rural parishes to share clergy, faith-formation resources, and sacramental coverage while preserving each parish's identity and worship schedule. Sister parishes in the family include St. Peter in Clarks, St. Michael in Central City, St. Lawrence in Silver Creek, and Ss. Peter and Paul in Genoa.
- St. Peter Parish — Fullerton
- St. Peter Parish — Clarks
- St. Michael Parish — Central City
- St. Lawrence Parish — Silver Creek
- Ss. Peter and Paul Parish — Genoa
Polish-Catholic Heritage of Nance County
St. Peter's has long been linked to the Polish Catholic settlement of Nance County, centered at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Krakow. Genealogical records document Fullerton-area families such as Ksiazek, Koziol, and Hebda who worshipped at St. Peter's in Fullerton while also maintaining ties to Krakow. This shared heritage of central European farmers — many of them Polish — shaped the religious culture of Fullerton from the 1880s onward.
- Ties to Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Krakow
- Polish-English Catholic community in Nance County
- Intermarriage and shared faith life between Fullerton and Krakow congregations
Visiting St. Peter Parish
Visitors are welcome at St. Peter's for any scheduled Mass or for the Saturday confession. The parish is in residential Fullerton, with parking on parish grounds and on adjacent streets. As a small rural community, the town has no public transit; most visitors arrive by car. The historic 1923 church is a local landmark visible from surrounding blocks.
- Address: 315 N. Esther St, Fullerton, NE 68638
- Phone: (308) 536-2574
- Parish office hours: by phone appointment
- Parking: on parish grounds and street
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Richard J. Whiteingc. 2013–c. 2024
Ordained 1980; served ten stops including Omaha, Fremont, Winnebago, South Sioux City, and (since ~2013) as pastor of St. Peter Fullerton and St. Peter Clarks. Served on the Archdiocesan College of Consultors 1998–2003. Retired at age 70 due to advancing Parkinson's disease.
- Rev. William D. L'Heureux2024/2025–present
Listed in the Archdiocese of Omaha's 2024 and 2025 directories as Pastor of Rural Family J (St. Peter Fullerton, St. Peter Clarks, St. Michael Central City).
