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About Us

Holy Trinity Brainard

Our parish was established in 1888 and the current church was built in 1906 under the guidance of Msgr. Alois Klein.  When our church was dedicated by Bishop Bonacum, a crowd of 6,000 was in attendance.  The cost to build the church was $47,000.

The unique statue of the Holy Trinity sits in the center of our main altar.  The statue was also in the original church built in 1888.

Holy Trinity Brainard
Holy Trinity Brainard

The statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was added to the main altar in 2009.  We pray devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Hope every Tuesday after morning Mass.

The statue of St. John Nepomucene is in the main altar. St. John Nepomucene, who is one of the patron saints of Bohemia, was martyred for refusing to break the seal of the confessional.

Holy Trinity Brainard Nepomucene
Holy Trinity Brainard Methodius

St. Cyril (right) and St. Methodius (left) were brothers.  They are called the "Apostles to the Slavs" because they brought the faith to the Slavic nations. Cyril is holding a bible because he invented a Slavonic alphabet (likely the base for modern Russian) and the brothers translated the bible into this language to aid their missionary work.

Holy Trinity Brainard St. Cyril

Our rectory (right) was completed in 1928 by Msgr. Alois Klein at a cost of $27,500. 

Holy Trinity Brainard Rectory

The rectory was modeled after Fr. Edward Flanagan's home at Boys Town (left), which was built in 1927.  The same contractor and architect built both houses.

Our Pastor

Fr. Steven Snitily

Fr. Snitily has been pastor of Holy Trinity since June 13, 2016. 

 

Fr. Snitily can be reached by email at fr.steven-snitily@lincolndiocese.org

Rev. Jordan Stutz 1887-1889

Rev. Mathias Bor 1889

Rev. Msgr. Alois Klein 1889-1949

Rev. Charles Rada 1949-1961

Rev. Daniel Kealy 1961-1966

Rev. John Prachar 1966-1968

Rev. Michael Danko 1969-1971

Rev. Paul Sheehy 1971-1972

Rev. John Glaves 1972-1973

Rev. Irvin Weber 1973-1976

Rev. Daniel Pohl 1976-1979

Rev. John Ludvik 1979-1983

Rev. Michael Houlihan 1983-1987

Rev. Garold Gabel 1987-1989

Rev. Stephen Cooney 1989-2000

Rev. Matthew Eickhoff 2000-2016

Our Former Pastors

Msgr. Alois J. Klein

Msgr. Alois Klein was pastor of Holy Trinity in Brainard for 60 years.

Chronological History of Msgr. Klein

  • 1866

    • Alois J. Klein was born in the village of Frauenthal, (Frantoly) near the city of Prachatitz (Modern day Czech Republic)

  • 1889

    • June 15th, Fr. Klein is ordained by the Bishop of Gurk, Dr. Joseph Kahn at the Cathedral of Klagenfurt

    • October 31st, Klein arrives in America

    • November 3rd, Klein is assigned pastor of Wahoo with Brainard and Weston as mission parishes

  • 1891

    • December 10th, Klein moves from Wahoo to Crete, St. Ludmilla with Wilber and Brainard as mission parishes

  • 1893

    • September 5th, Klein leaves Crete to become first resident pastor of Brainard

  • 1906

    • Klein finally gets support to build a church in Brainard – the town celebrates with a mile-long parade

  • 1908

    • December 20th, Klein says first Mass in new church at Brainard – valued at $45,000

  • 1909

    • On June 14th, Klein becomes 2nd vicar general of the diocese of Lincoln (Remained vicar general for 16 years)

    • June 30th, Bishop Bonacum dedicates Holy Trinity church with 6,000 in attendance

  • 1911

    • In 1911 Klein became president of the Nebraska State Beekeepers Association (Remained until 1917)

      • Article from Annual Report of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture on p. 218 in 1911:

      • At Brainard, in Butler County, is a clergyman of the Catholic Church who is known wherever bee journals are read as a scholarly exponent of the mysteries of the hive, the very Rev. Alois J. Klein, Vicar General of the Diocese of Lincoln. Father Klein makes agriculture his chief recreation from the exacting duties of his profession, and his success is only surpassed by the scholarly diction with which he expounds his intimate knowledge of the Apis Mellifica. The State Bee Keeper’s Association is honored by numbering this distinguished clergyman among its life members and as one of its honorary vice presidents.”

  • 1913

    • August 26th, Klein becomes the first monsignor in the Diocese of Lincoln

  • 1916

    • Completion of the Brainard Holy Trinity School building at the cost of $52,000

  • 1928

    • June 4th, Klein finishes new rectory at Brainard valued at $25,000

  • 1933

    • September 5th, Bishop Beckman makes Klein the Dean of the Brainard Deanery (Deanery moved from David City)

  • 1937

    • Fr. John Pastorak writes the book, Brainard’s Monsignor Klein

  • 1949

    • July 1st, Klein retires as pastor of Brainard. He was the resident pastor for just shy of 56 years. If you include the first four years of his priesthood, during which Brainard was his mission, he was pastor of Holy Trinity for just shy of 60 years

  • 1954

    • Klein dies on July 2nd

  • Excerpts from Brainard's Monsignor Klein:

    • His rectory was full of books, most of which showed signs of wear, though he took very good care of them

    • He translated Washington Irving’s “Alhambra” from English to Bohemian

    • He translated Charles Lamb’s “Five Tales of Shakespeare” from English to Bohemian

    • The translated Dr. Charles May’s “In the Still Ocean” from German to Bohemian

    • He spoke with perfect grammar

    • He spoke and wrote in German, English, and Bohemian fluently

    • Klein was noted for his love of Mary, love of nature, and love of Bohemia

    • Klein preached at the first Mass of a young priest:

      • “Forty-seven years of my life, I have spent in God’s Holy Priesthood.Yes, in those years, I bore many a trial, suffered many a cross, underwent many a disappointment, and faced many discouragements. But, I wouldn’t exchange those forty-seven years of Priesthood for anything in the world! And were it given to me to start all over again, I would most certainly choose again the holy path that leads to God’s Altar.”

    • The Nebraskana gave a summary of Klein:

      • “The brilliant achievements of Msgr. Klein form a lasting memorial of his devotion to the cause, these brilliant achievements being gained only through the hardest of work. Founding four congregations; organizing a dozen branches of different benevolent organizations; four new rectories, one model school, and five church structures certainly constitutes a record of unusual attainments in the annals of missionary work…”

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