Annunciation Church in Kearney Turns 35

On January 19, 1986, Bishop John J. Sullivan consecrated the then newly-built Catholic Church of the Annunciation on North Jefferson Street in Kearney. This past Tuesday, January 19, 2021, the parish community at the Church of the Annunciation celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of that dedication.

Members of the parish gathered for a special Mass, a Mass “On the Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church.”

Catholic Christians have been worshiping in Kearney since at least 1881, when the Official Catholic Directory for that year explains that Catholics were served through parishes in Liberty. Catholics in Kearney and Holt continued to gather and worship through the years, eventually organizing as the “Kearney-Holt Catholic Community.” This group petitioned Bishop Sullivan to become a formal parish in 1983, which the Bishop granted, naming the parish “Church of the Annunciation.” On March 31, 1984, members of the parish gathered in a formal “Entrustment to Our Lady.”

The principal celebrant of the anniversary Mass was the associate pastor, Fr. Bill Fox and the previous pastor, Fr. Al Ebach, CPPS preached the homily. The first pastor of Church of the Annunciation, Fr. Ken Criqui (currently pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Carrolton and Sacred Heart Mission in Norborne) and the current parish administrator, Fr. Terrell Finnell (also pastor at Good Shepherd Church, Smithville) concelebrated the Mass.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story