Who we are

St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Exeter, Nebraska, and St. Wenceslaus in Milligan, Nebraska, are small rural parishes within the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln. Located in Fillmore County, the churches serve their local Catholic communities.

St. Stephen Parish (Exeter): In 1877, Exeter received its own resident pastor and the first St. Stephen Church was built. The parish was incorporated in 1878 with Grafton and Sutton as mission parishes. By 1881 both Fairmont and Turkey Creek were added as missions. The present St. Stephen Church was built in 1901 and dedicated in 1903 - measuring 54’ x 116’ and 125’ high. A school building was dedicated in 1907 and a new two story rectory in 1910. While the school closed in 1968 and the structure torn down in 1997, the church and rectory remain. In 1978, to honor the centennial a grotto of “Our Blessed Mother of Grace” was built. Then in 2013 a new parish hall was completed.

St. Wenceslaus Parish (Milligan): In 1876, the first Catholic Church in Fillmore was built. It measured 24’ x 18’ and predated the town of Milligan. It was built as a private chapel on the Jon Kotas farm. In 1890, a new church was built in Milligan measuring 60’ x 26’. A year later, a the first resident priest came to Milligan. Eventually the original Kotas chapel was moved to the cemetery grounds northwest of Milligan, where it still stands today. In 1913, St. Joseph in Tobias became a mission to Milligan. In 1968, Milligan was made a mission to St. Joseph in Friend and Tobias became a mission to Wilbur. In 1978-79, the current St. Wenceslaus church was contructed. It was dedicated on Sept. 28th, 1980 on the Patronal feast day of the parish. The bell tower was built in 1984. In 2014, to unify the Exeter-Milligan school district, Milligan was named a mission to St. Stephen in Exeter.