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Who Are We?
We welcome your inquiry into our unique
parish Web Page. In the name of Jesus, we, as prayer and worship leaders here at St. Al's,
hope that we might be able to share the journey of faith with you. Please feel free to contact us personally, either through our parish e-mail, by
phone, or in person. St. Alphonsus Parish was established in July of 1938 as a Mission Parish. From a beginning of 230 people who attended the first Parish Mass, we have grown to a suburban parish of 2,783 families. After the beginnings of the community in 1938, the parish built a church and celebrated its first Mass in the new church on Easter Sunday, 1950. The School Sisters of St. Francis came to the parish in 1949 to begin their work staffing the new parish school. In 1950 the first stage of the school building was completed and occupied. The second phase of the building was completed eight years later. In that same year the parish built a convent for the Sisters who were teaching in the school. Today this building is known as the Parish Enrichment Center and houses the Christian Formation Department as well as the offices for the Volunteer Missionary Movement and the Interfaith_Southwest Neighborhood Outreach to Older Adults. After the Second Vatican Council, which convened in 1962, St. Alphonsus was in the forefront of adapting to and incorporating the changes brought about by that Council. St. Alphonsus formed its first Parish Council in August of 1970. In the 1980's plans were developed to build a new worship space which could better serve the needs of the growing community. On December 15, 1985, the first Mass was held in the current worship space. The community continues to explore ways to adapt to the changing world in which it finds itself. When the parish was first formed in 1938, Rev. Frederic Arnold was appointed as the first Pastor. He served until the Summer of 1941 when Rev. Joseph Spangler was named resident Pastor for the parish. Fr. Spangler served the parish for 20 years from 1941 until 1961 when Rev. Louis Koren succeeded him. Fr. Koren served until 1968 when he was replaced as Pastor by Rev. Martin Gloudeman. Fr. Gloudeman served for nine years until he was replaced in 1977 by Rev. Carrol Straub. In 1991 Fr. Straub was succeeded as Pastor by Rev. Richard Aiken. Fr. Dick Aiken served as Pastor until 2005 when Rev. Dave Meinholz succeeded him. Fr. Dave Meinholz serves the parish today as Pastor, together with Rev. Walter Vogel as Associate Pastor. St. Alphonsus is a large Catholic faith community with diverse gifts and needs. We strive to be a Christ-like community by enabling people to love one another, to live their faith, and to share it with others. We strive to create a welcoming spirit and a vibrant worship which inspires the participation of all. We strive to provide opportunities for lifelong Christian education, emphasizing justice-filled service, based on Scripture and our lived tradition. We envision St.
Alphonsus Parish to be a more vibrant faith community through innovative efforts in the
following areas:
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