All Saints Church at Hyannis, NE.
The first All Saints Church in Hyannis was a 16'x 20' frame structure,
built by Father W. L. McNamara in 1895. At that time,
All Saints was a mission of the Holy Rosary Church in Alliance. In the early days
of the parish, the priest would arrive in Hyannis by freight or
passenger train, spend the
night with a local family, say Mass, then board the train again for the
return to Alliance.
Many dedicated priests have served the All Saints community over the years.
In the fall of 1914, Father Edward Hynes became pastor, with Father
J. A. Traynor, assistant.
In the summer
of 1917, Father M. L. Ballou became pastor, with Father Albert Abel,
assistant. From the summer of 1920 to the fall of 1921, the parish was served
by Father Thomas Murray and his assistant, Father Robert Maron.
Father W. H. O'Keefe came to the area in the fall of 1921 and was pastor
until the fall of 1922. He was followed by Father M. L.
Daly from the fall of 1922 to the spring of 1924. From the spring of
1924 to the summer of 1927, Father Patrick Moriarity was pastor.
In 1927, Hyannis became a mission of the church at Seneca,NE. In 1949,
Mullen became the central parish for the surrounding churches, including
All Saints.
The present brick church with a seating capacity of 150, was built
under the direction of Father M. J. Koprowski, and dedicated by Bishop
John L. Paschang on June 14, 1954.
Father Koprowski served All Saints until retirement in 1987. He
was followed by Father Bryan Ernest who served from July,1987 until the
end of June,1993. Fr. Lou Nollette served from 1993 until 2000.
The current pastor is Fr. Jim Warner.
All Saints parish, through the leadership, ingenuity, and hard work of Parish Council Members,
Woody Thompson and Sharon Connealy, began to build a parish hall on the south side of the
current church in l994. The following appeared in the 9-14-62 issue of the
West Nebraska Register:
"Father Lou Nollette blessed the ground for the new parish
center during a ceremony July 17, 1994. The addition will be
adjacent to the present church building, with space for a kitchen, large
meeting/dining area, two smaller meeting rooms, and restrooms. The center
will be used for religious education classes, parish community activities,
and socials...."
The addition was built, in part, with the enthusiastic help of many
tireless volunteers from the parish. Bishop Lawrence McNamara blessed the
new hall the first weekend in
November of 1994. The Open House invitation from the Grant County
News read: "The Dream Has Come True... Come Share It With Us!"
The faith community of All Saints welcomes you to come and worship
with us as you travel through the Sandhills of Nebraska.
(Submitted by Fr. Lou Nollette)
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