St. Charles Borromeo history

On March 1, 1955, the St Charles Cub Pack and Scout Troop 180 were established.

On the evening of May 6, 1957, the St Charles parishioners and townspeople held a farewell party for the Jesuit staff composed of the pastor, Fat5her James Fallon, S.J. and his five associates.

Fifteen months later, in September 1958, the school opened its doors to 247 students.

In 1959 the western boundary of the parish was fixed at the Clay-Platte County line.

In July 1963, a prefabricated structure was purchased from the Nashua Manufacturing Company to provide for an additional classroom.

The present school building was opened to 336 students in Grades 1 to 5 on September 14, 1964.

Father Doran led the parish until his death in 1965.

St Andrew parish was created from the east side of the parish in 1966, with Antioch Road-North Prospect forming the western boundary of the new parish.

The initial plan for the church, designed by Stanley and Sturges, featured a five-arch roof and a separate tower comprised of eight arches. It proved vastly different from the resulting $678,000 structure, which opened its doors to parishioners on Easter Sunday, 1967.

In June of 1968, a $150,000 addition was built onto the school.

In 1969 Our Lady of Good Hope parish was established as a daughter church.

In 1970 the school came under the direction of its first of several lay principals, Thomas Duhe.

Father Robert Wittman was appointed as the second pastor and served St Charles until his death in May 1971.

A separate Catholic community (eventually to be called Good Shepherd Parish) was established in Smithville in 1972 and allowed to grow and save for a future church.

In November 1973, the basement of the rectory was remodeled.

It became a parish of the Diocese of Arlington when the latter was erected in 1974.

By the time of its 50th anniversary in 1975, the church that began with 72 families boasted a congregation of 2,000 families and facilities valued at $4 million.

In September 1977, a kindergarten with half-day sessions was established.

The new school opened September 18, 1978, with an enrollment of 400 students.

In September of 1979, an ad hoc planning committee initiated a five-year plan to ensure the continuance of quality education in this parish.

On September 2, 1980, Frank Grimaldi was engaged to redesign the basement area of the church.

In 1982, the first lay principal was appointed

In 1984, the first kindergarten was opened

In March 1985, a new 12 rank organ built by Fred Cool of the Temple Organ Company of St Joseph was installed in the church.

In 1986, after 29 years as faithful and beloved Pastor of the largest parish in the diocese, Father Hession retired and moved into a home located near the church.

In November 1987, the parish adopted a sister parish, St Ann Parish, located in Chimaltelnango, Guatemala.

In 1988, the first lay principal and an entire lay staff, who were committed to upholding the principles of Catholic education inspired by the teachings of Ste.

Thom Hiatt, the co-founder of Faith in Marketing, graduated from St Charles in 1989.

By the late 1990's St Charles Parish had grown to over 3,000 families.

Our Kindergarten wing was opened in September, 1992.

In 1995 both priests were honored with the rank of Monsignor in recognition of their contributions to St Charles Parish and to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Ground was broken in 1996 for the Hession Parish Center.

Father Francis R. Kittock succeeded Bishop Roach and remained pastor until his retirement in June 2000.

In 2004, the education program at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church began.

In 2005 a new, larger rectory for the priests was constructed on Reed Road adjacent to the Church and the original rectory was converted to house our parish offices.

On February 14, 2006, our dearly beloved Pastor Emeritus, Monsignor Edward I. Hession, passed away and a large gathering of family, parishioners and friends, along with many of his former Associates, paid their respects at his funeral Mass.

In 2007, the Community of the Precious Blood returned the pastorate of the parish back to the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph.

Since 2008, Mission Local has been producing enterprise-reporting on SF’s most critical issues: police reform, corruption, public health, housing and homelessness – all while also recording the lives and changes in the city’s oldest (and arguably, best) neighborhood.

A parish synod was held February 26-28, 2009.

Phase one of the School Maintenance Upgrade began on June 2, 2014.

During the summer of 2015, the Saint Charles family welcomed our 6th pastor, Rev.

On August 24, 2016, our beloved Pastor Monsignor Suelzer died unexpectedly.

May 29, 2017, work was begun to replace the second floor, east wing school windows.

In January 2018, construction of a new parish office, new church gathering space and outdoor plaza began.

On April 8, 2019, the former convent and Parish Offices building was torn down.

On December 18, 2020, stained glass windows, featuring female saints, were installed in the sanctuary; a long-time desire of the parish community to visually balance and enhance the sanctuary.

In July of 2021, Father Patrick Buckley took over as the 7th pastor of Saint Charles Church and School.