Due to your generosity through support, prayers and stewardship, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church was dedicated on August 13, 2021. We cannot thank you enough!
To make a donation you can mail a check payable to
'St. Rose Catholic Church' to the Parish Office at:
P.O. Box 528
Cheney, KS 67025
or click on the donation button below to make an online payment.
Gracious Father as the people of St. Rose Parish we pray that you encourage us in Growing into our Future and Preserving our Past. Help us to understand that we are many members but one family under your name. We truly thank you for the gifts in which you have bestowed upon our families and parish. Help us to recognize these gifts we have received through our founding members and to graciously give back to you. We ask for your continued guidance for our leaders, and to bless all our volunteers. If it be Your will, we ask that you bestow your blessings upon our building projects and campaign, that we as a parish family may gather under one roof to celebrate You in the Liturgy. Together we entrust this prayer to the intercession of St. Rose of Lima. Amen.
St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church
Vision Statement
Our Past ….
In the early 1900’s several German Catholic families settled in Mt. Vernon, KS. Soon it was clear that a church was needed to meet the spiritual needs of the community. Under the leadership of Fr. George Schneider, the parishioners bought land and built their church that was dedicated in the fall of 1911.
A parish school was soon to follow with the purchase of the Methodist Church and a few acres. The school operated from 1915 until 1918, when the students then attended Mount Vernon public schools till 1921. Sadly, lightning struck the church and it was burned to the ground. Although the furnishings were mostly saved, a new church had to be built, with parishioners stepping up to finance the construction.
Because of their commitment and generosity, the school was able to reopen in 1921. Soon to be followed by a parish cemetery and a parish hall in 1942, along with electricity to the parish facilities, and a renovation of the church interior in 1947. Parishioners stepped up again, when a new school was built the follow year.
The parish continued to grow and with increased activity, buildings were remodeled and replaced, utilizing pieces of the parish’s past when possible. Parishioners throughout the years, have committed their time, dollars, and energies to enhance and maintain the St. Rose campus, going beyond the routine maintenance to make it a place that is welcoming and accessible to all.
From its early beginnings to its present-day campus, St. Rose has been blessed. Our parish campus is vital as we grow and enhance our commitment to our faith, while providing a place to learn and worship. It provides a place where we, as our forefathers did, can pass on to future generations our beliefs, our values, and the teachings of our Catholic heritage. It provides a place for us to gather as a family to share our faith.
Our Vision ….
St. Rose’s Steering Committee, along with Fr. Dan Duling, professional contractors and architects, have evaluated the parish campus to create a master plan for the future. Broken into phases, the campus will be built and enhanced as dollars allow. These projects will provide facilities that all members of our parish can utilize, making our parish and school more welcoming and inviting, while also being safer and more efficient.
Phase I
Most important to the people of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church is the need for a place to gather as one parish community. We normally have people participating in Mass via technology, while sitting in the hall. We do not have enough space in our church to hold weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. The plan is to build a Church that will seat 300 people, including a gathering space and bathrooms. Future expansion is designed into the plan to meet future grow of the parish. The Church design will incorporate the architecture of the past three Churches that have stood on the campus of St. Rose of Lima, utilizing many of the furnishings from our past. The church will designed so it will be able to easily expand to over 400 seats, and perpetual adoration chapel, when needed in the future.
Phase 2
St. Rose has one of the strongest Parish School of Religion Programs in the diocese. The need for adequate and safe space for our children is important to the success of this program as we educate them in our Faith. Phase 2 will be building a “Parish Center” that will incorporate enough space for PSR including meeting space for adult faith formation, Men’s Club, Altar Society, and space for future Parish Offices.
Phase 3
The current Parish Hall was built in 1983, and has had little done to it since it was built. The entire hall will be updated and renovated along with the outside to be updated to match the new surrounding buildings.
Phase 4
The demolition of the current buildings (except for the parish hall) along with a new parking lot and covered drop off area for the Church for the elderly, the handicapped, and inclement weather.
Phase 5
The final phase is a rectory, which would be built when St. Rose can stand alone and support their own Pastor.
The Future ….
St. Rose of Lima is a growing parish with many strong dynamics; we have a solid Parish School of Religion Program and are a vacation parish. Currently our facilities and grounds have seen their age. The current Church is too small for the needs of the parish and is beyond repair and renovation. The school is unsafe to host classes in, and the parish hall needs some minor updates. Our parish is growing and we need to grow with the times in order to spread the word of God and build up his kingdom.
Like our forefathers, it is now our turn to give back to the church through the many gifts that God has given us. Let us hope and pray that our future at St. Rose will be successful as our past.
The impact of this vision will have on our St. Rose families and our community is limitless and we urge members to participate by providing feedback on this vision and by praying for the future of our parish.
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
