Road Less Travel Leads to Amazing Church

Tiny Victoria is a town of about 1,000 people in northwest Kansas.  But, if you’re anywhere within 50 miles of it, you can't miss its primary landmark – the twin bell towers of St. Fidelis Catholic Church rising majestically above the plains.  After we spotted it and being unaware of its history, we took a detour to see up close what we had been viewing. 

 

With a seating capacity of 1,100, St. Fidelis was the largest church west of the Mississippi when it was completed in 1911. Its beauty and size inspired William Jennings Bryan (visiting the area in 1912 on a presidential campaign) to dub it the "Cathedral of the Plains,” a name that still stands.

It is a testament to industriousness of the early pioneers who built it.  Brought from a quarry 7 miles away, the stone was cut, loaded and hauled one wagonload at a time -- a gigantic task and an amazing feat accomplished without automatic lifts or power tools. Each church family member age 12 or older was expected to donate $45 a year and six wagonloads of stone toward the project.  It was definitely a work of faith “built to last” and is still a magnificent sight.

In 2008, it was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas, a project sponsored by the Kansas Sampler Foundation to determine the state’s most important natural or manmade wonders.  A writer's moment along a road less traveled.

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