Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish – Hays

Founded 1967

The parish had its beginnings in 1953, when the Capuchins at St. Joseph’s Parish

received permission to build a church and school complex on what was then the east side of the city. The parish had grown so much that a second worship site was needed, although a new parish was not formally established until 1967. The new complex was dedicated in 1954.

The classroom portion of the complex was leased to the public school system, which operated a grade school at the site until xxxx, when the three Hays parishes opened Holy Family Elementary School.

The school’s auditorium was to serve as the temporary church until a new rectory and church could be built. When Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish was formally created, the Capuchins, who had been responsible for St. Joseph’s since 1878, agreed that diocesan priests should be assigned to the new parish.

The church remained in its temporary quarters in the auditorium until a new church was dedicated in March 2010.

In 2000, the parish announced a $6 million fund drive to build a new church. Ground-breaking began in late 2007 for the new 25,000-square-foot structure, which seats 1,000.