History
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia, Missouri, was established in 1958.
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish may be said to have grown of a second birth of Catholicism in Columbia that took place after World War II. Mass was said here as early as 1831 by priests who came from Salt River in Ralls County and from the neighboring towns of Boonville, Glasgow and Mexico. Sacred Heart was the first permanent parish in Columbia, established in 1881. It served the needs of the Catholic community until the mid 1950’s. In early 1956, Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter of St. Louis (later Joseph Cardinal Ritter) approved the purchase of the site chosen for the new parish - a 30 acre cornfield bordering on what was then Conley Lane and Worley Street. However, before the purchase could be finalized, a new wrinkle entered the mix. A new diocese - the Diocese of Jefferson City - came into existence due to a realignment of the dioceses of the state of Missouri. So, when the sale took place, it became part of the brand new Diocese of Jefferson City.
Our Lady of Lourdes reached its capacity in the mid-1990’s. In 1996, a fundraising campaign was begun and in 1998, groundbreaking took place on the new Church, eight additional classrooms for the school and a school cafeteria expansion. On October 17, 1999, Bishop John R. Gaydos dedicated the new sanctuary that would hold 800 people.
Pastoral Care
- 1957: Rev. Raymond Weis
- 1971: Monsignor John P. Flood
- 1977: Rev. Henry Reichert
- 1984-1990: Benedictine Monks
- Rev. Edwin Cole
- Fr. Lucien Bianchi
- Fr. Thomas Kraus (was ordained here in 1985)
- 1990: Rev. Richard Cronin
- 1990: Monsignor Michael Flanagan
- 2015: Rev. Christopher L. Cordes
- 2024: Rev. Roberto M. Ike
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight was born on June 26, 1968 and grew up in a large Catholic family and attended Catholic schools.