St. Boniface Catholic Church, Scipio, Kansas
Unless you are driving to Scipio for a wedding, funeral or to visit relatives it isn’t likely to be a travel destination. But it is a great in-route stop between southeast Kansas and Topeka, Lawrence or Kansas City.
Scipio is a tiny, well-groomed town located near the northern edge of Anderson County, about six miles north of Garnett, Kansas. There are two signs on Highway 59 that point toward Scipio. One is a Kansas highway sign; the other directs you to St. Boniface Catholic Church, two miles east. Even without signs many travelers catch the glint, on the eastern horizon, of the church’s beautiful, 160 foot tall copper-clad steeple.
Unless you are driving to Scipio for a wedding, funeral or to visit relatives it isn’t likely to be a travel destination. But it is a great in-route stop between southeast Kansas and Topeka, Lawrence or Kansas City.
Scipio is a tiny, well-groomed town located near the northern edge of Anderson County, about six miles north of Garnett, Kansas. There are two signs on Highway 59 that point toward Scipio. One is a Kansas highway sign; the other directs you to St. Boniface Catholic Church, two miles east. Even without signs many travelers catch the glint, on the eastern horizon, of the church’s beautiful, 160 foot tall copper-clad steeple.
Scipio, originally a German-Catholic community, was founded in the late 1850’s. Two important dates define its beginning. In 1859 a post office was opened. One year earlier, in 1858, Osage Mission Jesuit missionary Father Paul Ponziglione established a mission station in the home of German settler John Henry Rocher (Roker). The information that is available suggests a church was built then but a cornerstone on the existing stone building says “1881.”
As we made the two-mile drive from Highway 59 toward Scipio the steeple slowly disappeared behind a hill. About one-half mile from town it started to re-emerge and there was more than a church. There is a large, 2-1/2 story, stone monastery attached to the southeast corner of the church. We learned later that the monastery is maintained as a retreat center by Carmelite Friars who minister at St. Boniface and nearby St. Therese Parishes. The monastery and surrounding grounds are beautifully maintained and present an image of old-country, rural serenity. A well-kept parish cemetery is just south of the church and monastery buildings.
As we made the two-mile drive from Highway 59 toward Scipio the steeple slowly disappeared behind a hill. About one-half mile from town it started to re-emerge and there was more than a church. There is a large, 2-1/2 story, stone monastery attached to the southeast corner of the church. We learned later that the monastery is maintained as a retreat center by Carmelite Friars who minister at St. Boniface and nearby St. Therese Parishes. The monastery and surrounding grounds are beautifully maintained and present an image of old-country, rural serenity. A well-kept parish cemetery is just south of the church and monastery buildings.
The Church web page says the church is always open and it has been all three times we visited. Having grown up in the shadow of St. Francis de Hieronymo Catholic Church we are admittedly spoiled. But St. Boniface is beautiful inside and out. It has three altars, arched Romanesque ceilings, stained glass windows and is full of color. When we compared photos taken during the last two stops we realized they were within a couple of weeks of one another but a year apart. The evening sun was illuminating the northeast altar through one of the choir loft stained glass windows in all photos.
If St. Boniface isn’t your destination it is certainly worth a stop. Only two minutes off of Highway 59, it offers a great opportunity to get out of the car for a while and enjoy the beauty of a well-loved church, monastery and surrounding buildings. During our last stop we were greeted by two very enthusiastic pups that accompanied us around the grounds. The only sounds were country sounds of breeze in the trees, birds and a nearby group of horse-mounted cowboys who were loading cattle into trailers. You can do a lot worse than that on that long drive back from Kansas City.
Follow this link to the parish website for more information about the St. Boniface and its companion parish St. Therese. It also includes information about the Elijah's Rest Priory retreat center at Scipio. http://stbonifacesttherese.com/
