The History of our Parish
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was dedicated on May 22, 1949, with Msgr. John P. Gaffney as celebrant. Begun out of a need for a Catholic school in the Sylvan Hills area, Immaculate Conception Church came to fruition after a group of seventy or so residents met with Bishop Albert L. Fletcher in the summer of 1947. After almost two years of fundraising, hard work, and sheer determination from a relatively small group of people, the church was established as a mission of St. Patrick Catholic Church. The school opened its doors several years later, on September 4, 1956, with 136 children in grades 1st through 8th.
In an effort to accommodate a growing congregation, Immaculate Conception underwent major changes in 1969 with the construction of a new church building under the direction of Father Ralph Bauer. On March 22, 1970, Father Bauer offered the first Mass in the new church. The most recent church renovation occurred under the direction of Msgr. Francis Malone, and included a remodel and expansion project not only of the church, but included other buildings around campus as well. Ground was broken on Father’s Day, June 1997, and the new church was rededicated on March 25th, 1998, with Bishop Andrew J. McDonald present. Immaculate Conception has been fortunate throughout the years to have faith-filled pastors whose leadership skills, administrative abilities, and perhaps most importantly, love for their congregations, have enabled the church to grow both spiritually and architecturally.
The following is a list of former pastors, beginning with the first resident pastor, along with the dates in which they served: Father William Kordsmeier, 1954-1956; Father Amos Enderlin, 1956-1965; Father Ralph Bauer, 1965-1981; Msgr. John O’Donnell, 1982-1996; Msgr. Francis Malone, 1996-2001; Father James West, 2001-2011; and Father Tom Elliott, 2011-2015, Father John Wakube 2015-present.