St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church was built by the strong backs of the farmers from the Bohemian community known as  Pilsen, Marion County, Kansas in 1914 through 1915.  The church is located in the center of this little community of descendants of Bohemian families who immigrated to the United States during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

     The first settlers came to Pilsen in 1873.  The were the first foreign born pioneers to settle in Marion County.  They left their native land seeking greater economic opportunity in the United States.  The immigrants came to the United States in 1859 and most settled around the and near the cities of Chicago and St. Louis. 
 
     Among the first settlers of the Pilsen Community were the Jacob Rudolph family, the Vit Franta family, Jacob Vinduska

family and the Martin Sklenar family.  All in all, there were some sixteen families that came with the first pioneers in 1873.

     Joining the first sixteen families in 1875 were Enos Urbanek family and the Frank Krch family.  In 1878 the Anton Klenda family arrived as did Michael Benda.  The Joseph Svitak family in 1882.  By 1881 there were approximately twenty-five families living around the Pilsen community.

The Pilsen community today still has descendants of the original pioneer families living there and they are still working the land that their ancestors worked. 

     The current church is the third church building that has been located on the land that the church stands on.  Until they built their first church, the settlers held mass in their homes or when they were able, they would travel to Florence, Kansas to attend church there.

     Today, the church has undergone a complete renovation inside and out with the inside being completely redone, both in the sanctuary and in the church dining room.  The improvements to the outside of the church has been the addition of the handicap accessible entrance and lift and the re-grouting of all the brickwork and repairs to the steeple of the church.

    
     In 2001 a statue was dedicated to Pilsen's most famous citizen, Army Chaplain, Father Emil J. Kapaun and it stands on the church grounds where many visitors come to pay homage to a fallen hero.  Father Emil J. Kapaun, who lost his life at the hands of his captors in a POW camp in 1951 during the Korean War was and still is an inspiration to all men and women who have either known him personally or who have come to know him through his story.  At this time, there is a movement putting forward the effort of canonization of Father Kapaun.  You can read more about this on other areas of this website.

     Located downstairs off the church dining room is the Father Kapaun Room. There are many items that belonged to Father Kapaun on display.  This room is kept locked, but if you would like to see all the items that are kept on display

there, you may contact the church secretary and request someone meet you at the church on the day you would be visiting.  Contact information is located at the bottom of this page.

     The grotto is located between the statue and the church in front of the parsonage.  The grounds are lovingly cared for by the people of the community

     In 1991 the catholic churches of Marion County were joined into one parish, the Holy Family Parish of Marion County and they consist of the church at Pilsen, St. Patrick's Catholic Church at Florence, Kansas, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church of Tampa, Kansas and St. Mark's Catholic Church at Marion, Kansas.

Masses are held at each church.  Below is a schedule of weekend Masses.

Saturday         5:30 pm at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
                     Florence, Kansas
Sunday           8:30 am at St. Mark's Catholic Church,
                     Marion, Kansas
Sunday           10:30 am at St. John Nepomucene
                     Catholic Church, Pilsen, Kansas

Weekday Masses are as follows:

Monday       No Mass
Tuesday      5:30 pm - Florence
Wednesday  9:00 am - Marion
Thursday     9:00 am - Pilsen
Friday         9:00 am - Marion

     If you would like to visit the Pilsen Church at a time when there are no Masses being held and  visit the church and the Father Kapaun Room, you can contact the Parish Church Office by calling 1-620-382-3369.  Be sure to request that someone meet you at the church in Pilsen for a personal tour and they can open the Father Kapaun room for you so you can see all the items on display there.