St. Cornelius

Mass Time Beginning July 1, 2023
No Sunday Mass

About Us
St. Cornelius Church
410 3rd St., Homer, NE 68030

History
The original St. Cornelius Catholic Church was built in 1889 in the northeast part of Homer near the bank of the Omaha Creek. Captain Cornelius O'Connor, grandfather of a present parishioner, Harold O'Connor, built the church. He was assisted by pioneers from the Father Trecy Colony from Jackson. Timothy Murphy and the Ashford families were also instrumental in building the original church. It was built on land purchased from W. W. Pilgrim and wife in 1886 for $50.00 and received its name from the Patron Saint of Captain Cornelius O'Connor, a pioneer of the area. Prior to building the church, parishioners traveled to Jackson by ox team to attend church. When the church was built in Homer, priests from Jackson served the parish. From 1947 until 1964, St. Cornelius Church was a Mission of Winnebago and was served by priests from there. It was never a large enough parish to sustain a resident pastor and was always a Mission of another church. Just before a new church was built, the congregation consisted of 45 adults and 44 children.
"The old church became so riddled by time and floods that it was necessary to move the church to a new foundation or close it, and most parishioners decided that if it was moved, it would fall apart en route, so they voted to construct a new church. They received a grant of $8,000 from the Extension Society and the total cost of the new pre-fabricated church was approximately $16,000, the balance being donated by parishioners. In 1957 then, the new church was constructed in the northwest part of Homer on land originally belonging to Thomas Ashford and donated to the church by Mrs. Lorraine Carey. Mrs. Carey had bought the land from Mr. Ashford and intended to build a new home there, but because of ill health she decided against erecting a new home.
The old church building was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Matney, Jr., and was remodeled for a home. The building at the present time is owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan and they make it their home.
The new church was dedicated October 22, 1957 and Rev. Wm. Guthman was pastor at the time. William Ashford and Harold O'Connor were the Trustees of the church at the time.