St. Therese Parish: A Catholic Community on the Edge of Platte County
On twelve to thirteen rolling acres set high above Missouri Highway 9 in the Parkville area of Kansas City, St. Therese Parish has been the Catholic home of southern Platte County for more than seven decades. Established in 1950 by Bishop LeBlond and led today by Father Joseph I. Cisetti, the parish has grown from a congregation of seventy-five souls gathered in the chapel of a former funeral home into a community of more than three thousand families that fills a 1,500-seat church, a K-8 school, an early education center, an adoration chapel, and a campus of roughly fifty ministries and organizations. Known affectionately as the parish of the "Little Flower," St. Therese stretches across the southern half of Platte County and counts among its people a thirty-year tradition of lay retreat work, a thriving St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, and one of the more extensive Catholic education campuses in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Mass, Confession, and Eucharistic Adoration
The rhythm of St. Therese centers on the Eucharist. Five Masses are offered each weekend: Saturday at 4:30 pm and Sunday at 8:00 am, 10:00 am, noon, and 5:00 pm. Daily Mass is celebrated Wednesday through Friday at 6:30 am and Monday through Saturday at 8:30 am. The Saturday vigil Mass is also livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and recordings of recent Masses, homilies, and a daily "Day by Day" reflection series with Father Randy Sly are archived on the parish's media library for those unable to attend in person.
Confessions are heard in the church on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 8:00 to 8:20 am and on Saturday afternoons from 2:30 to 4:15 pm, with the longer window offered most weeks and confessions beginning at 3:00 pm on some weeks. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also available by appointment by calling the parish office. The parish runs a perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to noon, with sign-up available online for those who want to commit to a weekly Holy Hour or serve as a substitute. Adoration coordinators can be reached at adoration@sttheresenorth.org.
A bilingual note on the adoration sign-up page ("Inscribirse") hints at the small Spanish-speaking welcome the parish extends, and diocesan Spanish-language resources from the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are available. Regular sacramental life, however, is celebrated in English.
Sacraments Across a Lifetime
St. Therese accompanies parishioners through every sacramental milestone, beginning with Baptism. Baptisms are typically scheduled on Saturdays after the 4:30 pm Mass and Sundays after the noon Mass; the presiding priest or deacon is assigned the week of the celebration. Parents who have not taken a Baptism Preparation Class in the past three years attend a free one-evening session from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, scheduled as part of the online registration. Godparents must be at least sixteen years old, confirmed Catholics in good standing, and, if married, married within the Church. Deacon Scott McKellar coordinates the process through the parish office.
First Reconciliation and First Communion are normally prepared for in second grade through either St. Therese School or the Religious Education program, with a mandatory parent meeting in late September or early October for Reconciliation (typically celebrated during Advent) and a parent meeting in January for First Communion (typically received during the first four weekends of Easter). Older students in grades four through eight can catch up through a special Tuesday-evening program that meets from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Stephanie Andrade, the Director of Religious Education, oversees both tracks.
Confirmation preparation runs on a year-long schedule. Students at St. Therese School meet on Thursday mornings from 10:35 to 11:45 am; parish teens meet on Sunday afternoons from 3:15 to 4:45 pm; and adults approach the parish office directly. The 2026-2027 Confirmation registration opens July 22, 2026, with a mandatory parent meeting on August 23, a sponsor meeting on August 30, and a Confirmation Mass set for February 7, 2027 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Kansas City. Youth Director Erica Sarmiento and Coordinator Jennifer Davis walk families through saint essays, sponsor forms, and a Certificate of Good Standing.
For Marriage, the parish follows a nine-month preparation period set by the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Engaged couples begin with Deacon Scott McKellar, who provides a detailed Wedding Preparation Guide. Three months before the wedding, the music director Karen Engebretson helps the couple select readings, musicians, and liturgical elements. St. Therese also offers a five-part video series on marriage communication called "Better Together" and supports peer ministry through Retrouvaille, Journey of Hope for the divorced, and Courage and EnCourage for those with same-sex attraction and their families.
The Anointing of the Sick is arranged through the parish priests and is offered not only to those who are dying but to anyone facing serious illness or major surgery. The parish also coordinates Funerals as a work of mercy, with Karen Engebretson helping families select music and readings from a rich liturgical library; the Funeral Hospitality ministry, often staffed by Altar & Rosary Society members, welcomes visitors and prepares the gathering space. Holy Orders are explored through the diocesan Office of Priestly Vocations, with Father Andrew Kleine available to speak with men discerning the priesthood or diaconate.
Faith Formation from Crib to College
Faith formation at St. Therese is organized as the Parish Schools of Religion (PSR), a single umbrella covering every age from preschool through high school. Three signature programs carry most of the work.
Religious Education (RE) serves children in Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade who do not attend St. Therese School. Classes meet on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:15 pm, beginning in September and continuing through May, using the Gospel Weeklies curriculum from Pflaum Publishing. Second graders enrolled in RE prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion as part of the program.
Young Church is the youth ministry for sixth through twelfth graders, meeting Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in the third-floor Youth Room of the Early Education Center. Open to students whether or not they attend St. Therese School, the program mixes lessons, small groups, games, service projects, and fellowship under Director Erica Sarmiento.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) offers a Montessori-style approach to faith formation for children ages three through nine, based in a dedicated atrium on the third floor of the Early Education Center. Level 1 (ages 3-6) meets Mondays from 9:30 to 11:30 am, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:00 am, and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:15 pm. Level 2 (ages 6-9) meets Mondays from 6:00 to 7:30 pm and Thursdays from 3:15 to 5:00 pm. The program is also home to two six-week upper-elementary and middle-school Bible Studies each year on Tuesday evenings, plus a special Sacrament Preparation track for students in grades four through eight preparing for Reconciliation and Eucharist.
Adult faith formation centers on the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), which meets Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Wooldridge Center under Pastoral Associate Chase Hagemann. Adults and confirmed Catholics seeking deeper roots also join Bible Study groups that run between eight and twenty-four weeks at a time, the diocesan CCO Parish series of small-group studies (Discovery, Source, Growth, Trust, and Commission) coordinated locally by Father Randy Sly, and a stable of weekday prayer groups. The Fatima Prayer Cell meets Friday mornings from 7:30 to 8:30 am; the Mary, Martha, and Lazarus Prayer Group gathers Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am; the Queen of Peace Prayer Group meets Thursdays at 9:30 am; and That Man is You, a men's program with breakfast, runs Saturday mornings from 6:45 to 8:25 am in the Birkel Room.
The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
The most visible outreach of St. Therese is its St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, an all-volunteer ministry that has been serving Platte County from the parish basement since 1958. The pantry operates by appointment from the lower level of the parish center, with phone lines open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to noon. Clients, who must live in Platte County, may visit once every thirty days for non-perishable food, fresh produce, baked goods, dairy, meat, and personal hygiene items as available. Evening appointments are offered for working clients from 4:30 to 6:30 pm on the third Thursday of each month. Emergency financial assistance is also available in limited amounts.
The pantry is staffed daily by fifteen to twenty volunteers drawn from a roster of more than 150, who stock shelves, bag groceries, drive to pick up food, and assist clients. Most of the food is purchased at a reduced rate from Harvesters, the regional food bank, with additional produce and supplies secured from Hy-Vee, Sprouts, Sun Fresh, Walmart, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and a number of area restaurants including three McDonalds, two Dollar Generals, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse, Panera Bread, RayCam, and CVS. Ninety-nine percent of donations go directly to client assistance. Each Christmas the pantry organizes an Adopt-A-Family program through which parishioners provide gifts for the children of pantry households. Volunteers can reach the pantry at 816-741-8661 or svdp@sttheresenorth.org.
Music, Liturgy, and Prayer in the Round
Liturgical life at St. Therese is shaped by the parish's Music and Liturgical Ministry, all coordinated by Director of Music Karen Engebretson. The Adult Choir sings at the 10:00 am Sunday Mass and at special celebrations, rehearsing Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Cantors lead congregational singing and auditioned instrumentalists (organists, pianists, and other musicians) round out the music at weekend liturgies. On Friday evenings at 7:00 pm the parish gathers in the church to sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet, an evening of harmony and prayer open to anyone who wants to join in, harmonize, or simply pray along.
Behind the scenes, lay liturgical ministers keep the Mass running. Lectors proclaim the Word of God and require training; Greeters and Ushers welcome parishioners, distribute bulletins, and assist with the collection; Altar Servers assist the priest and are open to any youth in fourth grade or older who is actively practicing the faith; and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion distribute the Body and Blood of Christ, also with required training. A Vocation Holy Hour is held every other month on the third Sunday from 6:15 to 7:15 pm, following the 5:00 pm Mass. Art and Environment volunteers redecorate the worship space at the start of each liturgical season, while Baptismal Preparation Class teachers and Wedding Coordinators support families through the parish's two busiest sacramental ministries. Funeral Hospitality ministers round out the work, with volunteers drawn largely from the Altar & Rosary Society.
A Campus of About Fifty Organizations
With more than three thousand families, St. Therese runs the kind of organizational life one would expect of a small town, hosting "around fifty" clubs and ministries.
The Altar & Rosary Society, with every woman of the parish aged eighteen and older automatically a member, cares for the altar and runs fundraisers including the Holiday Mart, Garage Sale, Princess Tea, and Cinnamon Bread Bake. The Knights of Columbus Council 7199 serves the parish as a fraternal organization for Catholic men, funding parish needs and sponsoring programs for youth, the elderly, and community members with special needs. The Legion of Mary meets Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in the Birkel Room under President Tracy Potter, with active and auxiliary members praying and visiting the homebound, nursing homes, and parish programs.
Social ministry has a foothold in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a parish tradition of pot-luck dinners for six to twelve adults held on the first Saturday of each month from October to April; Over 50 Gang!, a quarterly potluck luncheon for parishioners over fifty on a Wednesday in March, June, September, and December; and Mothers of Young Children (MOYC), which hosts small-group meetups, playdates, and family events. The Mental Health Ministry, coordinated by Diane Hall, Mary Beth Fisher, and Jeff Davis, offers a confidential space of support for individuals and families touched by mental health challenges and organizes a Blue Christmas Service each December for those experiencing loss. The Respect Life Ministry coordinates the Baby Bottle Drive, the Spiritual Adoption program, the Advent Angel Tree, and a Mother's Day Baby Shower.
Spiritual formation is anchored by JOURNEY: New Life in Christ, a parish retreat movement that has been running for more than thirty years. Each fall and spring, JOURNEY hosts separate men's and women's weekend retreats at the parish's own Education and Parish Center, led entirely by fellow parishioners. The retreats begin Saturday at 7:00 am and end Sunday around 4:00 pm, with air mattresses, meals, coffee, and snacks provided at no cost; the Sunday Mass obligation is fulfilled during the weekend. The next women's retreat is scheduled for September 19-20, 2026 and the men's retreat for October 17-18, 2026, with sign-ups handled through the parish's JOURNEY page.
Pastoral Care ministries include Communion to the Homebound, Funeral Luncheons coordinated by Altar & Rosary, and a monthly commitment to serve at St. Mary's Food Kitchen in Kansas City, Kansas, where parishioners either serve on a Sunday or supply meatloaf. A separate volunteer crew helps stock the food pantry; Coffee and Donut volunteers serve after the 8:00 and 10:00 am Sunday Masses; and a Finance Council and Pastoral Council advise the pastor on budgets and parish direction.
The School and Early Education Center
St. Therese's Catholic identity has always been inseparable from its school. St. Therese School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade under Principal Amy Hogan and Assistant Principals Emiliano Gross and Amanda Minard. The school occupies a building completed in 2003 as part of a major expansion that also demolished the original 1951 church, school, and rectory to make room for additional parking and a central courtyard fountain. Today the school offers K-8 education with a Catholic foundation, drawing families from across southern Platte County.
Adjacent to the school is the Early Education Center (EEC), a three-story building completed in 1991 that originally housed child care, preschool, and kindergarten classrooms. Under Director Angie Langhauser, the EEC now cares for children from six weeks through Pre-K, with a steady enrollment that has reached a capacity of two hundred and sixty children. Its third floor also houses the Catechesis of Good Shepherd atrium, the Youth Room for Young Church, and dedicated school counseling offices.
High school families are pointed toward St. Pius X High School, a diocesan Catholic high school in northern Kansas City, with St. Therese administering a need-based SPX Scholarship for parish students. Annual awards reach up to two thousand dollars per student and are made through a partnership with FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment.
Hallow and the Parish Prayer App
St. Therese is one of the growing number of parishes partnered with Hallow, a Catholic prayer and meditation app. Through the parish's Hallow page, parishioners who have never had a premium subscription can claim a six-month trial followed by an annual twenty-five percent discount, and current subscribers can use the code GrowthSub25 to renew at the discounted rate. The parish page on Hallow offers community prayer, daily devotionals, kids' content, and access to popular Catholic presenters including Father Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Roumie, all intended to support a daily prayer habit between Sunday Masses.
From Funeral Home Chapel to 1,500-Seat Church
The history of St. Therese Parish reads like a compression of mid-century American Catholic growth in the suburbs. Bishop LeBlond authorized the formal establishment of the parish and sent Father Thomas Brett, who celebrated the first official Mass on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1950, in the chapel of the former Leland Francis Funeral Home (now Heritage Funeral Home). The twelve- to thirteen-acre property was purchased from Noble Johnson, a Platte County landowner, with the first groundbreaking held on February 11, 1951, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The original parish center combined a church and school upstairs with nun's quarters below and served as the worship space for twenty years.
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth taught at the growing school from the start; a convent was built in 1955, and later the Sisters of Francis of Savannah joined the staff before both orders eventually departed as vocations to the teaching sisterhoods declined. A 1965 rectory once housed five priests and a housekeeper. A new church seating about 650 was dedicated by Bishop Helmsing on March 12, 1972, only to be outgrown again within two decades. By the 1990s, overflowing Masses led to parish-wide town hall meetings and the decision to build bigger on the existing campus rather than divide into a new parish. The convent was razed, and Bishop Raymond Boland dedicated a new 1,500-seat church on January 14, 1998.
A diocesan-wide millennium study pointed to continued growth in Platte County, and the parish's response was a brand-new school, broken ground in July 2002 and completed for the 2003-2004 academic year. The old church, school, and rectory were demolished to make way for additional parking, with a central fountain marking the spot where the original church had stood. Monsignors Thomas Brett, Denis O'Duignan, and Victor Moser, along with Fathers Frank Lackamp, James Hart, Michael Roach, and the present pastor Father Joseph I. Cisetti, have shaped the parish's life across those decades. A long list of associate pastors has served alongside them, with Father Randolph Sly and Father Andrew Kleine currently assisting.
Stewardship, Giving, and the Annual Parish Appeal
The work of the parish is sustained by an annual stewardship renewal pledge, which the parish invites every household to complete each year. Online giving is set up through WeShare, with a secure giving portal for Sunday offerings, special ministries, and stock or IRA gifts. Stock Giving and IRA Charitable Rollover instructions are outlined on the parish appeal page for those who wish to give appreciated securities or qualified charitable distributions; Nancy Koons, the Director of Advancement, walks donors through the paperwork.
Beyond the regular offertory, the parish hosts a number of signature fundraisers. The Annual Auction celebrates thirty-eight years in 2027; the Golf Classic at The Bluffs, with a tournament check-in on Monday, October 12, 2026, sells team entries and a tiered sponsorship program ranging from $500 hole sponsorships to $5,000 title sponsorships; SAVOR is an annual September food-and-drink event; and the Christmas Market in early December welcomes vendors and shoppers alike. The parish bulletin also highlights the Annual Catholic Appeal, the diocesan annual campaign supporting ministries across the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Visiting St. Therese
The parish campus sits at 7207 MO-9 (NW Highway 9), Kansas City, Missouri 64152, with the parish office open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (closed Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm). The office can be reached at 816-741-2800. Visitors attending a weekend Mass will find a cry room, a gift shop, a welcome center, a lost and found, and accessible restrooms all on the church level; the lower level houses the Wooldridge Center, the Birkel and Martin meeting rooms, the parish library, a kitchen, and the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. Saturday confessions begin at 2:30 pm in the church and the Saturday vigil Mass at 4:30 pm is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those at home. Newcomers are encouraged to register through the parish registration form, after which they can sign up for parish communications, online giving, and invitations to parish events.