Part of the Catholic Parishes of Western Holt & Boyd Counties

In the summer of 1875, the first Mass of this parish was celebrated, and the first St. Patrick church was built in July 1877 in the same location that the church occupies today.  This church was a small frame building with no seats of any kind and was actually named St. Joseph’s at that time. The area was populating quickly and they quickly outgrew the seating capacity of this 8 x 36 foot church.  A second, more traditional, church was completed in 1882. Father Michael Francis Cassidy was appointed to St. Joseph’s Parish in 1886. He was born in Ireland and  began his religious studies there, before continuing them in the United States and Canada. On November 9, 1886, Father Cassidy changed the name of the church to St. Patrick, in order to have an Irish saint for his parish, in honor of the Irish settlers of the area and, of course, his own heritage. St. Patrick Church was regularly incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska at Omaha.

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On August 4, 1909, the cornerstone of the new St. Patrick church was laid in grand ceremony, and the current St. Patrick church building was dedicated on October 19, 1910.  The windows, Stations of the Cross, and the pews are the same that are in the church today. Redecorations of the church interior took place over the years, with the major changes coming in 1968 with the Vatican II Council changes to the liturgy of the Catholic church. At this time, the altar was turned to face the congregation and a new pipe organ was installed in the front of the church necessitating a total reconstruction and dismantling of the old altar area, including removal of the two side altars and the placement of a false wall at the front of the church with the organ pipes being set in front of it. Other projects - from painting the interior to exterior masonry restoration - have taken place over the years including the installation of a new baptismal font and front entry re-flooring, installation of a new handicap ramp and grotto, and repairing and refurbishing the original stained glass windows of the church.  

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St. Mary's Academy was excavated in June of 1890, but on February 19, 1891, a fire burned down the entire building within 90 minutes. It was rebuilt and opened by the Sisters of St. Francis in late 1900. By the end of the first year, they had 210 day students and 20 boarders. In 1958, the Sisters of St. Francis were no longer able to meet the financial needs of St. Mary’s Academy and they turned over operation and ownership of the St. Mary’s Academy to St. Patrick Church. In 1961, St. Mary's no longer took boarders, and the cornerstone for a new St. Mary's High School was laid on January 24, 1962. On February 16, 1965, a mysterious fire destroyed St. Mary's Academy. Fortunately no one was harmed, but the beautiful Academy building was gone.  Construction on the new elementary school began in September 1965 with it opening in September 1966, and a new addition was built onto the high school. In 1989, with the threat of the closing of St. Mary's due to financial difficulties, the Save Our School project began to raise funds to alleviate the deficit, help with long-term operating costs, and build up the endowment.  In 2008, as part of the "Building Up Our Legacy Campaign", the high school underwent many renovations including locker rooms, offices, bathrooms, elevator, front commons addition, and new boilers, among many other things. In 2012, the St. Mary's Grade School had the roof and entryway repaired, the grade school boilers from 1965 were replaced, and an enclosed hallway was built to connect the high school and grade school.  A new roof was put on St. Mary's High School in 2019.  

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