House of God

St. Columban, Chillicothe

By Ashlie Hand | Photos by Cory Thomason

St. Columban Parish in Chillicothe, Missouri, was founded in 1857 by Father John J. Hogan with 12 families. The first permanent church building was dedicated on May 17, 1860. The current church was built for 150 families at a cost of $12,000 and dedicated on Nov. 23, 1879. It was expanded to its current size on Oct. 24, 1894.

The design and architecture are strongly influenced by the rich German heritage of the first parish families, as well as the Franciscans who built the current church and served the parish community until 1914.

In 1904, a new main altar was added at a cost of $1,625. The altar was custom-built by Mr. Henry Dreisoerner of Quincy, Illinois. The altar is 35 feet high and is adorned at the top with a custom statue of Saint Columban holding an accurate scale model of the church carved by M. Schneiderhahn of St. Louis.

The interior of the church went through many stages of renovation and repair over the decades of the 20th century. Following two separate lightning strikes prior to 1940, a 25-foot-tall, copper-clad steeple was added to replace the original in 2009. In 2017, a grand restoration of the church took place which restored the majority of the interior to how it appeared in 1913.

The architecture of St. Columban is a combination of both old and new Gothic forms, modeled after the German Ulm Munster Cathedral. Pointed arches, which lead the eyes upward to heaven, and high, vaulted ceilings are used throughout the church. The reddish-colored bricks were purchased from a local brick plant, and native stone for the foundation was hauled by horses and wagons from Utica, Missouri, by the Bonderer family.

Visit catholickey.org for more history and symbolism found at St. Columban Catholic Church.

In 1913, Thomas Bush painted six murals. In the north transept is Christ healing the afflicted; the south has Christ with Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. The original images of the Ascension and the Assumption were repainted on either side of the main altar in 2017.

Most of the statuary dates back to the late 19th century and was manufactured in Munich, Germany. This angel holy water font is one of a pair which flank the center aisle as you enter the church.

Current pastor, Father Ryan Koster, has a passion for traditional Catholic imagery, history and spiritual symbolism inside the church. He has personally restored large portions of the rectory and sacristy by hand.