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In
1885, Sheridan and Big Horn were organized as missions of St. John the
Baptist “then St. Joseph’s” Church in Buffalo. The Rev. Henry Bex
of Cheyenne was the first resident priest. With the
newspaper announcing his visits, it took Rev. Bex. four days to make
the circuit of the missions,. On June 20, 1885 Fr. Bex
celebrated Mass in Big Horn and the following week celebrated Mass in
Sheridan. Thus, the first Mass in Sheridan as a mission was held
in June 28, 1885.
Masses were said in the home of Robert J. and Mary Mills, with a small congregation and without a church building.
In 1888, Holy Name was formed as a Mission congregation under the leadership of Father E. J. Engelbrecht, pastor of Buffalo.
In
August 1892 Father C. Scollen arrived in Sheridan and stayed until
December of 1894. During this time, Holy Name built its first
church in the eastern part of town. In 1894 the first Mass was
held in the new church.
A
larger church was needed. In 1901 construction began on East
Loucks Street. The church was built of brick with stone finish,
the church was 48 x 96 feet, with a 102 ft. spire. Dedication of
this new church was held in 1902.
April
1, 1975 Bishop Newell officiated at the dedication of the current Holy
Name Church, at Loucks and Connor Streets. The booklet prepared
for the dedication can be found here.
In 1985 Holy Name in Sheridan County celebrated 100 years as a Catholic parish.
During
these many years the following priests have served as pastors of our
Catholic Community; Father C. Scollen, Father Sasse, Father John Duffy,
Father William J. Short, Father Frederick Kimmett, Father George Stoll,
Father William Delaney, Father Eugene Sullivan, and Father Thomas Ogg.
Holy
Name continues to grow families and faith. We are a blessed
parish through our leadership in Ministries and community
support. We recently conducted our first Ministry Fair with over
30 Ministries represented. Our vision for the future is to grow
strong Stewardship and Volunteer leadership through the guidance of our
Pastoral and Finance Councils and our Long Range Planning Committee. |