photo by: Lauren Fox

The original Holy Family Catholic Church in Eudora is at 301 E. Ninth St.

The oldest in-use Catholic church in Kansas has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Holy Family Catholic Church, 301 E. Ninth St. in Eudora, was listed in the Kansas Register of Historic Places on Aug. 1 and the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 2. For parishioner and Eudora resident Janet Campbell, it was the result of a three-year process.

“It was exciting — finally getting the (attention) that I think the church deserves,” Campbell said. A self-described history buff, she also noted her family’s connection to the church. The current altar was built by her grandfather in 1927, and her great-grandfather is pictured outside the original church structure in 1889. Campbell’s efforts to get the church on historic registers began in 2017 and led to the church’s national recognition.

photo by: Lauren Fox

From left, Peter Bock, Janet Campbell and the Rev. Mike Scully stand in front of Eudora’s Holy Family Catholic Church on Oct. 20, 2020.

Mike Scully, the priest at Holy Family Catholic Church, said he was amazed when he heard the church had been accepted to the national register.

“I had to do it in Victoria at the Cathedral of the Plains, and it takes a lot of work,” said Scully, who used to work in Victoria, Kan., at St. Fidelis Basilica. “She did it.”

The parish was originally founded in 1859, but the church wasn’t built until 1864. Since then, a sacristy (where the priest prepares for Mass and vestments are stored) was added in 1888 and the front of the church was expanded in 1897, which is also when the bell tower was added.

photo by: Lauren Fox

The inside of Eudora’s Holy Family Catholic Church is pictured on Oct. 20, 2020. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 2, 2020.

In 1963, the parish moved to a building one block away, and the church sat empty and unused until 1981. In 1981, a group of townspeople, not all of whom were associated with the church, banded together to renovate the building.

The church is now used mostly as an adoration chapel — a place where parishioners can worship Jesus Christ in near silence — but Mass is also celebrated there on the first Saturday of every month. The building is also sometimes used for funerals and weddings. On Christmas, it hosts the communitywide caroling event. Most Holy Family Masses are now celebrated at a new church at 409 E. Eighth St., which was built in 2015.

According to the Kansas State Historical Society, church records indicate that the original Holy Family Catholic Church building is the oldest Catholic church still standing and in use in Kansas.

Efforts are underway to renovate the building. Peter Bock, building and grounds committee chair for the church, recently added a working bell to the bell tower and refurbished and repainted the cedar shingles on the outside. He plans to focus future efforts on repairing broken stained glass windows and tuckpointing the masonry.

photo by: Lauren Fox

Peter Bock is pictured inside the bell tower of the old Holy Family Catholic Church in Eudora on Oct. 20, 2020.

photo by: Lauren Fox

The bell tower of Eudora’s Holy Family Catholic Church was refurbished in early October 2020 with some new shingles and fresh paint.

Now that the church is on the National Register of Historic Places, efforts at upkeep should be easier. National register listing qualifies properties for the Heritage Trust grant program, and owners of buildings on the register may be eligible for a federal rehabilitation tax credit if the building is rehabilitated for income-producing purposes. The Kansas State Historical Society also offers free technical advice to owners of historic properties to help them maintain their properties in a historically accurate manner.

Scully expressed pride at what Bock and Campbell have done to refurbish the building and get it recognized.

“They have done an immense amount of work here,” he said.

photo by: Lauren Fox

The Rev. Mike Scully rings the bell at the entrance to Eudora’s Holy Family Catholic Church on Oct. 20, 2020.