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-