About St. William · Buffalo, Missouri
St. William Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish located in Buffalo, Missouri, the county seat of Dallas County. Founded in 1946, it remains the only Catholic parish in Dallas County and serves approximately 61 Catholic families in a town of about 1,167 households. The present brick church replaced the original wood-frame structure in 1979, and the parish continues to gather for one Sunday Mass each week along with weekday Masses, religious education, and active outreach to the wider Buffalo community.
- Established
- 1946
- Patron
- St. William of Vercelli
- Rector
- Rev. Allan Saunders
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
Why belong here
St. William is the only Catholic parish in all of Dallas County, making it the natural spiritual home for any Catholic family living in or passing through the Buffalo area. Despite its small size, the parish maintains a full rhythm of weekly and daily Mass, regular Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration, religious education for every age, and active outreach to the hungry and stranded through the local Neighborhood Center and Ministerial Alliance. Visitors are welcomed personally, and the rural parishioners particularly value the warm Sunday fellowship that follows Mass with refreshments provided by the Parish Council of Catholic Women.
Mass times at St. William
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. (before Mass)
- Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Adoration times
- Tuesday: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (2nd Tuesdays)
Parish Identity & Patron
St. William Catholic Church is the only Catholic parish serving Dallas County, Missouri. It is named after St. William of Vercelli, a 12th-century Italian abbot and spiritual reformer. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and is currently pastored by Rev. Allan Saunders.
- Patron: St. William of Vercelli
- Diocese: Springfield-Cape Girardeau
- Pastor: Rev. Allan Saunders
History of St. William Parish
Settlement of the town of Buffalo began in 1830, but no Catholic parish was established there until 1946. The first St. William Church was a wood-frame structure, which served the scattered Catholic families of Dallas County for more than three decades. In 1979 the parish replaced it with the present brick church on South Locust Street, together with an attached Sunday-school wing and parish hall.
- Settlement of Buffalo: 1830
- Parish founded: 1946
- Original structure: wood-frame church
- Present brick church built and dedicated: 1979
Parish Ministries & Outreach
Although St. William numbers only about 61 Catholic families out of roughly 1,167 households in Buffalo, the parish maintains a notably active outreach and ministry life. Parishioners regularly contribute canned goods to a pile at the church entrance for the local Neighborhood Center's food program for hungry families, and place donations in a poor box administered through the local Ministerial Alliance to assist stranded travelers and emergency community needs. The Parish Council of Catholic Women hosts refreshments after Sunday Mass, providing the principal weekly social gathering for a parish whose members live scattered across the countryside.
- Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW) — after-Mass hospitality
- Neighborhood Center canned-goods collection
- Ministerial Alliance poor-box ministry
- Hospitality / guest-book ministry welcoming visitors
Faith Formation & Religious Education
For one hour before the Sunday Mass, children from toddler age through high-school age — together with their families and catechists — gather in the attached Sunday-school wing for religious instruction. Because most parishioners live in the surrounding rural area and rarely see one another during the week, the combined rhythm of catechesis, Mass, and after-Mass fellowship forms the heart of parish life at St. William.
- Pre-Mass religious instruction for toddlers through teens
- Sunday-school wing attached to the main church building
- Family-based catechesis with shared parish fellowship after Mass
Location, Visiting & Contact
St. William Catholic Church is located at 404 South Locust Street in Buffalo, Missouri — just a few blocks east of U.S. Highway 65, on the east side of the local high school. The mailing address is PO Box 518, Buffalo, MO 65622-0518. Visitors are warmly welcomed and invited to sign the parish guest book. The parish office can be reached by phone at (417) 345-2744 or by email at [email protected].
- Street address: 404 S. Locust Street, Buffalo, MO 65622
- Mailing address: PO Box 518, Buffalo, MO 65622-0518
- Phone: (417) 345-2744
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://stwilliambuffalo.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Allan Saunderscurrent
Listed as Pastor of St. William Parish, Buffalo, MO on the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau parish page and deanery listing.