A History of Good Shepherd Parish
On June 16, 1934, Reverend Fred
Wieberg received his letter of appointment to found a parish in Hillsboro,
Missouri. Father Fred arranged to have a chapel set up temporarily in the rear
of a local barber shop. On July 8, 1934, he celebrated the first Mass for the
new parish and later that day Donald Lassing became the first person baptized
at Good Shepherd. By the way, Fr. Fred had requested "St. Bernadette"
for the parish name but Archbishop Glennon named the parish "Good
Shepherd" because Fr. Fred was to "go out and find the lost sheep in
the hills of Jefferson County."
Construction of the church and rectory buildings was undertaken by the men of
the parish. Excavation was halted for a brief time when one of the horses died
while pulling the plow used to dig. The first Mass in the new church building
occurred on November 18, 1934. On Thanksgiving Day Bishop Christian Winkleman
dedicated the church. According to parish archives the church was built at a
cost of $6208.17 and the rectory for $4082.03.
Good Shepherd Parish had no school of its own until 1947, when the second
pastor, Rev. William Berkel, obtained two Ursuline sisters from Mt. St. Joseph,
Kentucky, to teach in two temporary classrooms set up on church property until
a recently purchased residence could be remodeled and used for school purposes.
The school's first year of operation boasted an enrollment of forty pupils. Our
present school was built in 1953.
There have been many changes since Fr. Fred celebrated that first Mass sixty
years ago: Latin has given way to English, stained glass windows have been
added, the church has been remodeled, a cafeteria has been added, the Ursuline
nuns have departed. But throughout all these changes, and many others besides,
there has been one constant .- the faith of the people of Good Shepherd Parish.
To those who have given so much of their time, their lives and their faith to
make our parish what it is today we offer our heartfelt gratitude. May God
continue to bless us for many years to come.
Pastors of Good Shepherd Parish
Father Fred Wieberg 1934-1940
Father William Berkel 1940-1948
Father James Huelater 1949-1952
Father George Scheer 1952-1958
Father Raymond Santen 1958-1969
Father Raymond Liermann 1969-1976
Father Joseph Lessard 1976
Father Donald Dyer 1977-1981
Father Donald Murphy 1981-1986
Father John Jakle 1986-1992
Father Michael Dieckmann 1992-2000
Father Dennis Schmidt 2000-