History of St. Ann

St. Ann Catholic Church was established in 1866 by a small congregation in a house in
Plattsburg, Missouri. As the number of Catholics increased, an a-frame church on 4 th and Maple
Streets was erected. In 1884, the young Fr. Denis Keily arrived and began to minister to the
growing population. Fr. Keily, like many priests on the American frontier, was ordained in
Ireland. Having studied at All Hallows College in Ireland, known for preparing missionaries for
the new world, he was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and was immediately sent in
1879 to America where he served at parishes in St. Louis, rural southern Missouri and Kansas
City. It was then that Diocese of St. Joseph had need of more priests and he transferred to this
locale. As the small community of Catholics grew in Plattsburg, it was necessary to build a more
permanent place of worship that would be fitting.

The property was purchased at the corner of 7th and Maple streets and the cornerstone was laid
in the spring of 1888. An excerpt from the ceremonies is listed below:

At 10 a.m., the church societies and the clergy assembled at the parochial house to vest and
form procession. Thence they proceeded to the church and headed by censer-bearer, which
smoking censer; cross-bearer between two acolytes holding lighted candles; the children of
Mary following their banner; the Holy Family society following their banner, all wearing white
flowing veils and medals; next the Holy Name Society wearing badges; the clergy in cassock and
surplice, and the ministers of the mass vested in rich vestments. Mass celebrated, they went in
the same order followed by the men, then the ladies of the congregation to the site of the new
church. Assembled there, Rev. W. P. Bourke preached from a raised platform. After the sermon
Very Rev. T.J. Downey, D.C., sprinkled with holy water, the place on which the altar will be built,
while the clergy and choir changed Psalm 88 (How holy are thy Tabernacles) next followed
appropriate prayers. Psalms 126 (Unless the Lord Builds the House), 50 (Have Mercy on Me;) 86
(The Foundations). In a cavity in the stone were enclosed a recital of the act, the date, names of
Presidents, Governor of Missouri, Mayor of Plattsburg, Pope and Bishop of St. Joseph. Also coins,
newspapers, the Catholic Review, The Catholic American and the Democrat. (Excerpted from
The Kansas Catholic. Leavenworth, Kansas. 19 April 1888.)

On Tuesday, December 18, 1888, the church was finally dedicated just in time for Christmas.
Fully paid off, with an altar donated by the ladies of the parish, the interior was stark, but it
would not remain so for long. It was here that the faithful of St. Ann and their pastor would set
out to truly make the golden band to house the diamond of our Catholic Faith.
Slowly but surely, the statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Mother, St. Ann, the
large life-sized crucifx and the bas-relief stations of the cross were purchased. The stenciled
glass windows were installed in 1891.