Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Construction crews are finishing up the exterior of a $40 million church in Saint Marys. The Immaculata Church is expected to be finished by the end of 2022 and will be the largest Catholic church in the state of Kansas.
The original Immaculata Church was built on the St. Mary’s Academy campus in 1909. Rector Father Patrick Rutledge said the historic church burned down after the Society of St. Pius X, an offshoot of the Catholic Church, took ownership in 1968.
“We’ve grown so much that the Immaculata at this size can no longer fit on campus,” Rutledge said. “That’s why we decided to rebuild it up here on a new site so practically speaking it means a lot to our people because it will finally be a church big enough for our Sunday mass attendance.”
Rector Father Patrick Rutledge said the original historic church burned down after the Society of St. Pius X, an offshoot of the Catholic Church, took ownership in 1968
The new Immaculata Church will seat more than 1,500 people. Father Rutledge said the church sees close to 4,000 people each Sunday. He said an average mass will have 1,200 people and a Christmas mass will have 1,500 to 1,600 people.
The Immaculata is expected to be finished in December 2022.
READ: Donations to churches at all-time low
–Lee Hartman | Metro Voice
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