A Parish on Amidon Street
St. Jude Catholic Church stands on North Amidon in Wichita, Kansas, where it has served north-side families since the late 1950s. The parish today gathers roughly 710 registered households around a Liturgical calendar that stretches from a 4:30 p.m. Saturday vigil through two Sunday morning Masses and a full week of daily offerings. The pastor is Rev. John Fogliasso, known to parishioners as Fr. Fog, who succeeded Fr. James Mainzer in 2019.
The parish belongs to the Diocese of Wichita and follows the full Sacramental life of the Roman Catholic Church. Visitors approaching 3030 N. Amidon find a church of stained glass and stone, a parish hall connected to the school, a Marian grotto, and a perpetual adoration chapel that stays open around the clock.
Mass and Confession Schedule
Weekend Masses at St. Jude are offered Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The weekday rhythm fills out the rest of the week: Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday evening at 6:15 p.m., and Thursday and Friday at 8:00 a.m. A First Saturday morning Mass at 8:00 a.m. is offered once a month.
The Sacrament of Confession is heard Saturday from 3:30 to 4:25 p.m. and Wednesday from 5:45 to 6:10 p.m., with priests also available 20 minutes before each weekday morning Mass. Eucharistic Adoration continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the parish chapel, giving the parish a constant quiet presence that many regulars weave into their week. Mass is livestreamed for those at home or away.
A Church of Glass and Relics
The present church building was completed in 1967 under the direction of Father Francis Hay and was described at the time as architecturally ahead of its time. Its most striking features are the stained glass windows by the French artist Gabriel Loire, whose Impressionist panels fill the nave with deep blue light and present the Stations of the Cross in a soft, painterly style. Loire's work appears in churches around the world, and the Wichita installation remains one of his signature projects in the United States.
In 2014 a new stained glass window depicting Pentecost was added to the church, created by Hoefer Stained Glass of South Hutchinson. It uses glass similar to the Loire windows but with a more realistic depiction of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles, and it sits in what had originally been the southeast entrance to the building.
The sanctuary also holds two angels painted on canvas by parishioner Jim Simpson. The originals were first made in the 1980s at the request of Father Thomas Scaletty, when Jim's parents, Jerry and Janet, built the frames. In 2010 Father Daniel Vacca asked Jim, who runs his own art and graphic design business, to recreate them on a larger scale with an architectural border. The new panels now remain permanently in the sanctuary niches.
In the vestibule, a relic collection displays 150 relics of saints donated to the parish after the death of longtime parishioner Leon Zimmerman, who had spent years gathering them. The relics are sorted into three groups: saints celebrated on the Church calendar, obscure saints not on the universal calendar, and the oldest relics of saints from the biblical era. A reference book sits on permanent display so visitors can look up each saint, and a kneeler near the Divine Mercy image invites anyone to light a candle and offer a prayer.
From a Furniture Store to a Grotto
St. Jude was named in April 1959 by Bishop Mark K. Carroll, who offered four options to the founding parishioners. They chose St. Jude over St. Cecilia, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Joan of Arc. Until the church could be built, the community worshipped in a temporary chapel three blocks north on Amidon, in the Zickafoose furniture store. Parishioners fondly called the little storefront chapel St. Zickafoose; the building still stands, now occupied by a used car lot.
Father Gerald Pathe became the first pastor and lived in a house on what is now the parish property. The new church opened in November 1959 with about 300 families, more than had been counted just seven months earlier. The original building was a split-level structure measuring 40 by 101 feet, seating around 380 people, with the church on the upper floor and the parish hall below.
The school followed in September 1961, shortly after Father Francis Hay arrived. It was first run by the Sisters of St. Joseph, then by the Dominican Sisters in 1969, and finally by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ from 1975 onward. Father Hay chose the last four digits of the rectory phone number as a small memorial: 1963, the year the rectory was finished. Those same four digits still close out the parish phone number, 838-1963.
The parish has continued to grow in place. Father Reinhard Eck served from 1969 to 1976, and Father George Kruzick followed from 1976 to 1985, leading a school expansion called A Project of Hope that added classrooms and a gym. Father Thomas Scaletty arrived in 1985 and oversaw the Faith in the Future project, which connected the school to a new parish hall and added meeting rooms. Father Thomas Hoisington became administrator in August 2009 and saw the renovation Building the House of the Lord Where All Are Welcome to completion that October. Bishop Michael O. Jackels celebrated the 50th anniversary Mass on November 14, 2009, with the rededication of the altar, a new baptismal font, and a new bell tower. Bishop Jackels announced at that Mass that Father Daniel Vacca would be the new pastor.
Father Vacca arrived January 4, 2010, and during his tenure the relic collection and the new Pentecost window were added to the church. In 2001, under Father Doug Campbell, the parish dedicated Mary's Garden, an outdoor Marian grotto that remains a quiet stop for prayer between Masses and gatherings.
Sacraments at the Heart of Parish Life
The parish treats the seven Catholic sacraments as the center of its ministry. Baptism is offered to infants after a preparation class that parents are encouraged to take during pregnancy, with baptisms normally scheduled after one of the weekend Masses. At least one godparent must be a practicing Catholic in good standing, at least 16 years old, and fully initiated into the Church. Adults and older children prepare through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, known at St. Jude as OCIA.
First Reconciliation is taught to children before they make their First Communion, typically in second grade through either the parish school or the Parish School of Religion program. Confirmation preparation is offered through the school and PSR, usually during middle school or high school under the guidelines of the Diocese of Wichita. Adults who have been baptized but never confirmed are prepared through customized adult formation or OCIA.
Couples preparing for marriage are asked to contact the parish office at least nine months before their desired wedding date, in line with diocesan norms, and to finalize nothing until they have spoken with a parish priest. Marriage preparation includes introductory meetings, an FOCCUS inventory, instruction in Natural Family Planning, and a diocesan marriage preparation retreat. The parish also celebrates quinceañera Masses for families who ask.
The Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone facing serious illness, major surgery, or the burdens of advanced age. A dedicated emergency line, 316-302-5364, connects families to a priest for end-of-life needs or sudden emergencies. Mass Intentions can be scheduled at the parish office for the repose of the soul of someone who has died, for someone who is sick, for a birthday or anniversary, for a group or family, in thanksgiving, or for a cause such as Vocations or Respect for Life.
St. Jude Catholic School
St. Jude Catholic School shares the parish campus and serves preschool through eighth grade. About 200 students attend, with an average class size of 20 and a cap of 25. Each teacher is fully licensed, most with advanced degrees, and all are trained in differentiation and multiple teaching styles so that academically talented students and those who need additional support can be challenged appropriately.
The principal is Mrs. Janeé Bernal. The preschool offers a three-year-old program on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and a four-year-old program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, with a nonrefundable deposit to hold a spot. Kindergarten registration opens for children who will be five by September 1, and incoming kindergartners take a Dial 4 Assessment in the spring before enrollment. The school also welcomes students from Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Daily life at the school includes athletics, a hot lunch program that meets federal nutrition standards, library time, and standards-based grading. The Rockets compete in local athletics under the school's Twitter feed. The parish and school sit on the same North Amidon block, so families can walk from classrooms to Mass and back without crossing a street.
Faith Formation Across the Lifespan
St. Jude offers a wide spread of formation programs in addition to the school and PSR. OCIA walks unbaptized adults and older children through Christian initiation each year, with a Rite of Sending and Rite of Election celebrated at the cathedral each February. Cursillo is a parish-based movement for adult spiritual formation. Totus Tuus is a summer program that brings Catholic college students into the parish to lead weeklong catechetical camps for children and youth.
Walking with Purpose is a women's Bible study open to the parish and the wider community. The Kapuns Men's group gathers the men of the parish for fellowship and formation. CYM, or Catholic Youth Ministry, serves the teens of St. Jude with regular gatherings and retreats. Together these offerings cover the ground from cradle to empty nest.
Serving North Wichita and Beyond
Service to the wider Wichita community is built into parish life. The Lord's Pantry, a grocery program run entirely by parish volunteers, distributes sacks of food on Monday mornings between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. to families in need. The pantry is funded by monetary gifts, memorials, pancake breakfasts, aluminum can collections, school and PSR food drives, grocery donations, and grants.
Parishioners also volunteer regularly at the Lord's Diner, a Wichita-wide kitchen for the hungry. The Pro-Life Committee keeps the parish engaged with Birthline and A Better Choice, two local ministries that walk with women in unexpected pregnancies and families choosing life. The Parish Nurse Ministry offers health-related support, while parish volunteers take care of church cleaning, gardening and landscaping, snow removal, and maintenance of the buildings. Wine Tasting nights, the annual Art and Crafts Show, the Garage Sale, and Trunk or Treat knit the parish together across the year and raise money for the ministries that need it.
The Patron of Desperate Cases
The parish takes its name seriously. St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the twelve Apostles, a cousin of Jesus through his mother Mary, and the brother of St. James. After Pentecost he preached across Mesopotamia, Libya, Turkey, and Persia with St. Simon and is credited with helping to found the Armenian Church. He wrote a short letter to early Christian converts under persecution, urging them to keep their faith. Around 65 A.D. he was martyred, traditionally with an axe or club, and his body was brought back to Rome, where it rests beneath St. Peter's Basilica.
Devotion to St. Jude spread from Italy and Spain through South America and into the United States through Chicago in the 1920s. Catholics have long turned to him in moments of great need, and the parish celebrates his feast day on October 28 each year. The statue of St. Jude Taddeus at the front of the church, the stained glass, the relic of St. Jude in the vestibule, and the parish's identity all point back to the saint of difficult cases and of things despaired.
Joining the Parish
New parishioners can register through the parish office during regular hours, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The parish office phone is 316-838-1963, and the school office is 316-838-0800, both sharing the same fax line, 316-838-8513. Online giving is available for tithes and donations, and families can also sign up for email and text updates through Flocknote to stay current with parish news.
Parishioners who want to give time rather than treasure can browse the long list of service groups, from the Lord's Pantry to the Art and Crafts Show, and find one that fits their gifts. The Parish Council, Finance Council, and School Council provide advisory leadership to the pastor and principal, meeting regularly through the year. Whether a family arrives for the school, the vigil Mass, the adoration chapel, or the pantry, St. Jude Catholic Church welcomes them to take part in tomorrow's history on North Amidon.