History of St. Sabina Church

The parish at Belton began on September 10, 1944 when Father Thomas J. Crowell, pastor of Cass County, offered the first Mass in a liquor store on Highway 71 (now Y Highway) in Belton. The parish existed as a mission for a year, with Mass in the liquor store, until 1945, when it graduated to the Belton Public School auditorium. During 1945 ground was purchased at 3rd and Herschel Streets. The money for the purchase of the land was contributed by James Green, Sr. with the request that the parish be named St. Sabina in honor of his wife, Sabina Green.

During 1948 an army chapel from Camp Crowder was reconstructed on the above mentioned site. The chapel was officially dedicated on August 8, 1948 by Bishop Edwin V. O'Hara. It served as the Parish chuch until 1974, when the facilities at 700 Trevis were dedicated on May 12th by Bishop Charles H. Helmsing and the pastor, Fr. Roger Miller.

There are still a number of parishioners in the parish who helped establish the parish from its beginnings in the liquor store. However, the parish has grown. Currently the parish, with its 114 square miles, encompasses a number of towns, chiefly: Belton, Raymore, Peculiar, and Cleveland. As the area grows in population the parish looks forward to how it can best minister to the Catholics in the area and the community at large.