Our Lady of the Lake Parish — Branson, MO
Our Lady of the Lake Parish — Branson, MO (Photo by G. Eckl)
Phone: (417) 334-2928 • Fax: (417) 334-6883
Email: [email protected]
Website: ollbranson.com
Address: 203 Vaughn Dr., Branson, MO
Mailing address: Our Lady of the Lake Church, 203 Vaughn Dr., Branson, MO 65616-2542
Pastor: Fr. John (‘J’) F. Friedel, [email protected]
Parochial Vicar: Fr. Johny Manickathan, VC, [email protected]
Deacon: Daniel Vaughn, [email protected]
Coordinator of Children & Youth Ministry: Nickie Rivera
Parish Secretary & Hispanic Ministry: Samantha Barron
Digital Communications & Parish Engagement:
Administrative Assistant for Finance: Pat Hutcheson
Also attends to Our Lady of the Ozark, Forsyth, MO
History
Our Lady of the Lake parish has grown over the course of eight decades from sporadic summer time Masses for visiting fishermen and campers, to a bustling family of Catholic Christians who welcome several thousand visitors every weekend. From 1915 until today, the Catholic faith has found fertile soil in Taney County, MO.
Officially dedicated in 1936 by Msgr. James J. McCaffrey, Our Lady of the Lake parish found its first home in the stone structure vacated by Farmers Bank. The tiny building served the community well until a growing tourist economy highlighted the need for additional space. The parish celebrated the dedication of its new and much larger church on Vaughan Drive in 1971 with Bishop William Baum of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau officiating.
Fr. Ernie Marquart shepherded the parish family from 1987 to 1993 during Branson’s “boom” years. Thanks to a burgeoning entertainment community, the town’s spreading fame brought Catholic Christians from all corners of the world to far exceed the capacity of that building. In 1993, Msgr. Philip A. Bucher came to Our Lady of the Lake with his “Vision for the Future” of a house of worship that would serve the parish’s unique needs for many years to come.
Today, Our Lady of the Lake welcomes 150,000 “part-time parishioners” to its three weekend Masses throughout the year. The latest parish census lists 350 active year-round families. Our Lady of the Lake parish seeks to motivate its family members to closer discipleship of Christ through daily action.